


I Promise

by napoleonboneaparte



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Assault!Jason, Bottom Nico, M/M, Protective Jason, Sniper!Nico, Top Jason Grace, XCOM Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-16 09:14:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 58,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5822899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/napoleonboneaparte/pseuds/napoleonboneaparte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“But you lived. And that’s what matters. I’m happy that you are alive. Don’t beat yourself up too much. We’ll get out of this war together, I promise.”</p><p>A promise, made during the heat of a raging war. Death hangs around every corner. Two individual soldiers, a killer from afar, a close and personal brawler, polar opposites of each other but with intertwined fates. Will both live to see the repulsion of the alien invasion or will the Earth be subjugated under their watch? How far will they go for the one they love? The sacrifices, the pain, the blood, will it all be worth it?</p><p>*If you're here just for the smut, it's in Chapter 13 & Chapter 17.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> 13 April 2015. After a prolonged air battle, a small UFO has been shot down over the forests of Pennsylvania. A squad of four has been sent to investigate the wreckage, destroy any remaining hostiles and secure the site. Three of the squad members have had experience dealing with the first wave of invaders in the first month. The remaining member is a young rookie sniper with the code name of Ghost.

Cold beads of sweat trickled down the young sniper’s face. The forest was silent, too silent. The only sound he heard was that of his own breathing. No crickets chirped, not an owl hooted, the frogs remained mute. Even the trees were still as statues. It was as though the forest was aware that its calm and tranquility was to be interrupted by the sights and sounds of battle.

It was the night of the full moon. Beams of moonlight pierced through the sniper’s helmet visor. A strange, almost otherworldly, orange glow remained lighting up the eastern horizon. Pieces of wreckage from the alien vessel lay scattered across the forest floor.

The sniper was afraid. Sure, he had been trained to dispatch enemies from afar, but always human enemies, never extraterrestrial ones. This was his first deployment against the alien invaders. He had never seen one of the invaders himself, but he had seen firsthand the carnage, destruction, devastation and terror that they and their weapons had wrought.

His resolve strengthened. He might not know the reason, the purpose, the motivations behind the invasion, but he was determined to put an end to the alien menace wherever and whenever he can. After all, it had been made personal.

“Ghost!”

The sniper jolted.

“Ghost! Do you copy?”

Shouldering his sniper rifle, Ghost reached for his radio.

“Ghost here. What’s up?”

No reply came other than the static. Just then, the clump of shrubs before him began to shake. Ghost took cover behind a nearby tree and drew his pistol.

The radio static cleared. “Ghost!” the radio barked, “We’ve cleared the ship! But we lost…”

The transmission began to break up. He waved his radio around in exasperation, hoping to get a clearer signal in vain.

“Repeat! I’m losing you!”

“Lost…visual contact…Seeker…Stealth cloaking…careful…hum…”

The radio went dead. Ghost was about to try another signal when he suddenly realized, the shrubs were no longer shaking.

A loud hum blared into his ears. He was about to swing around when he felt something cold and metallic constricting around him. He could not move or even make a sound when he laid his eyes on his captor. It was a flying machine; it looked and moved like a squid but was definitely not organic in any case. Strengthening its grasp around the sniper, it drew its ‘beak’ closer towards Ghost’s face. If not for his helmet, the Seeker would surely have crushed his head with its tentacles. He struggled as the metal beast covered the airways of Ghost’s helmet. Within seconds, his helmet began to fog up as the air thinned and he was short of breath. His eyesight began to blur. He was suffocating. The Seeker’s ‘beak’ opened in what looked like a malicious smile. He was carrion for the vultures.

A violent blast threw him and the Seeker flying back a metre away. Ghost gasped for air. The heavy wreckage of the beast lay atop his chest, making it hard to breathe. He tried pushing it off himself, but he had been badly weakened.

“Help…,” he croaked.

A figure knelt at his side, staring for a moment before removing Ghost’s helmet. The sniper took in a large refreshing gulp of fresh air as his savior pulled away the wreckage.

Ghost took note of his rescuer’s appearance. He was an Assault Trooper, his smoking beast of a shotgun said a lot. Clad in sangria armour, the only visible part of his face was his electric blue eyes peering through his helmet’s eye slits.

“Can you walk?”

The trooper’s soft-spoken voice drew his attention. He grabbed the man’s extended hand, trying to pull himself up but stumbled back down. Every inch of his body ached.

“You’re hurt.”

“I guess so,” shrugged Ghost. “A stretcher would be in order.”

“No need.”

Placing his arms under Ghost’s back and legs, the trooper lifted Ghost bridal-style and began walking with him towards the Skyranger.

“Dude! What the fuck?! Put me down! What do you think I am?! Your bride?! What the flying fuck is wrong with you?!”

Ghost struggled and tried to wriggle himself out of his rescuer’s grasp, but it turned out that he was being held more firmly than he had thought. After minutes of colourful cursing and protests, Ghost finally stayed silent.

The trooper removed his helmet. His tidy, military-cropped blonde hair was the antithesis of Ghost’s messy unkempt mess of hair. He felt awkward and a tad bit guilty for carrying Ghost, a fully-trained soldier, like a mother does her baby. He had to say something.

“So, what’s your name?”

The sniper looked away. Probably still annoyed.

“I’m Stormkeeper, by the way. They call me that because of my lightning reflexes. Get it? Storm? Lightning?”

He wore a goofy grin, which Ghost promptly responded with a raised eyebrow. He was terrible at making jokes, he reminded himself.

“You can call me Grace though. Colonel Jason Grace.”

Ghost remained unimpressed.

Jason decided to shut up.

They reached the Skyranger; the medic having already laid out a medical stretcher. Jason laid the sniper down gently on it. He turned to join the rest of the squad in salvaging the alien ship.

“Wait.”

Ghost propped himself up on his shoulder, dark eyes gazing right at his rescuer. “Thanks.”

Jason cracked out a smile. “Any time.”

“You asked me for my name. di Angelo. It’s Nico di Angelo.”

Jason ruffled his hair, much to Nico’s annoyance. “Nico. Nice name.”

With that, Nico watched as Jason turned and began walking back to the crash site.

The bay doors closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	2. Breakthrough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sup?”
> 
> Jason leaned against the door frame, taking sips out of a Coke can. He had presumably been working out, for his singlet and jogging shorts were drenched with sweat.
> 
> “What do you want, Grace?” mumbled Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 April 2015. Nico questions his place in XCOM and Jason pays him a visit.

“How long before I get back onto the combat roster, doc?”

Nico sat on the side of his bed as Dr. Solace paced around, flipping through the documents on his clipboard.

“I suggested a week, but the Commander said that your wounds were pretty superficial, so you’ll be back on the roster in four days.”

“Four days?! But I’m totally okay, alright!”

To prove his point, Nico grabbed the dumb bell on the bedside cabinet and tried to lift it. He gave out a yelp as pain surged through his arm and he dropped the weight.

Dr. Solace rushed back to Nico’s side and examined his arm.

“You’re still not yet completely healed,” concluded the doctor. “I will prescribe you some painkillers but you must also stay away from strenuous activities. No weightlifting of any kind. Just get lots of rest. Got it?”

Before Nico could reply, a shrill woman’s voice buzzed through the loudspeakers, calling for Dr. Solace to be present in the Biology laboratory within five minutes.

“Dr. Vahlen...She may seem all nice and amicable on the outside, but I can tell you, she is an alien’s worst nightmare.”

With a wink, Dr. Solace dashed out of the medical bay, clipboard and stethoscope in hand.

Nico did not move. He was pretty poignant, despondent even. How could this have happened? To screw up this badly on his first deployment? He placed his head between his hands. XCOM’s operatives consisted of the most elite soldiers of the most elite troops in the world. Their mission was to secure humanity’s future from the alien menace. There were men and women down here who could easily crush skulls with a single punch. And yet, here he was. Sitting in the medical bay; recovering after nearly being smothered to death by a flying murderous metal squid. Worse, it was unlikely that the Seeker was even the deadliest enemy to come.

The more he thought about it, the more insecure he grew about himself. He had been the top marksman of his class, yet he failed to fire a single shot in his first deployment. Perhaps he was not cut out to be in the XCOM project. Perhaps it was a mistake. Maybe his selection as a XCOM operative was a technical error by a blundering bureaucrat. For all he knew, his application to join XCOM never made it through and he was there by happenstance and not merit. Nico was starting to break out in a cold sweat as his own self-doubt began to mount.

“Sup?”

Jason leaned against the door frame, taking sips out of a Coke can. He had presumably been working out, for his singlet and jogging shorts were drenched with sweat.

“What do you want, Grace?” mumbled Nico.

Jason strolled over to Nico and plopped himself on the bed next to Nico’s.

“Nothing. I just saw Will running to the access lift. I thought I’d see how you were holding up?”

“Oh, thanks.”

The two just sat in silence, with the sniper staring at his own feet and the assault thinking up of possible small talk. Jason was baffled. He was known as the Mr. Nice Guy of XCOM. He knew and was popular with everyone in the base, be they a soldier, a scientist, an engineer, or a pilot. Yet, he had no idea to proceed with Nico. He needed something to break the ice.

Jason cleared his throat. “So, the Seeker almost got the better of you, huh?”

Nico’s face darkened. He mumbled in the affirmative.

“You were lucky, you know?” continued Jason, “I’ve seen quite a few people who got badly chewed up by those Seekers. No one really enjoys those tentacles, except for the Japanese operatives.”

Jason chuckled at his own joke before looking up at Nico. The boy’s eyebrows were furrowed. Realising that he had put his foot in his mouth, Jason cursed himself silently. This was not working out as planned.

“I sounded like a jerkass, didn’t I?”

Nico nodded.

“Fuck. That was pretty racist. I’m sorry I said that.”

The blonde soldier sighed. He was kind of hoping that the base’s alarms would go off and he would be deployed to an alien abduction site. At the very least, he wouldn’t feel awkward blasting a few alien heads off. The silence was deafening. Couldn’t he just be swallowed up by the ground?

“What is it like?”

Jason snapped back his head towards Nico. “To be what?”

“To be one of XCOM’s golden boys. To march onto the Skyranger with everyone content with the knowledge that you won’t return in a body bag. To be the soldier that the invaders dream about in their nightmares.”

Nico’s eyes bore into Jason’s. There was something pretty striking about those eyes, Jason noted. They just emitted power. He wouldn’t be surprised if Nico could stare down the aliens into submission; maybe run and call for their mothers.

Jason clasped his hands together and cracked his knuckles. “Woah, slow down there, soldier. I wouldn’t be that confident about my own survivability. I’ve just been lucky, so far. I know of many soldiers who were far better warriors than me who lost their lives because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Do you ever feel scared?”

Jason was pensive for a moment. He replied softly, “All the time. It’s one thing to fight an enemy whose powers go beyond our wildest dreams. It’s another thing altogether to fight an enemy we never would have believed existed just three months ago. What was that quote again? "Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." And here we are, fighting against a hostile alien invasion force from Planet Who-The-Fuck-Knows. Who would have thought it?”

Jason would have continued if he had not noticed Nico burying his head in his hands.

“I fucked up.”

Colour was starting to drain from his already pale olive face. Jason walked over to Nico, and sat next to him, putting his arm around his shoulder.

“Dude. I’m here if you need to talk.”

Nico did not respond. The two just sat there, with Jason letting Nico take his time.

Jason bowed his head. “You know, I was in the first squad that XCOM deployed. We got sent to a warehouse in Hamburg, with zilch knowledge on who or what we were fighting. There was this Bundswehr guy, just standing inside, not responding to us at all. Our squad leader, a big Pole, Sergeant Pulaski, went up to him to check him out.”

He took another sip of Coke.

“There was this...alien...it was like a Sectoid, you know those bug-eyed, gray oval head things? Except this one had a larger head and a redder skin and it actually seemed to be in control of the Bundswehr guy.”

“Wait.” Nico interrupted. “Mind-control control?”

“It looked like it.”

“Fuck.”

“I know. We got fucked up right then. The Bundswehr guy blew both himself and Pulaski up with a pineapple. The rest of us came under heavy fire from a swarm of Sectoids. Our medic got hit in the face, blew her jaw off. The heavy weapons guy also got taken out, but he managed to take quite a few out with him. I was the only one left.”

“You killed all the remaining aliens?” Nico looked up to Jason, intrigued.

“I was lucky. I had kept my grenades as a last resort. Just kept lobbing them at their general direction until I heard nothing.”

“That was brave.”

“Was it? They all died, while I lived. I did nothing to deserve it, yet, here I am.”

Nico looked away. “I nearly died on my first deployment.”

Jason squeezed Nico’s shoulder. “But you lived. And that’s what matters. I’m happy that you are alive. Don’t beat yourself up too much. We’ll get out of this war together, I promise.”

Nico let out a timid smile. “I’m hungry.”

“I know. I heard your stomach rumbling. I was wondering whether it was the construction crew downstairs,” Jason snickered before getting punched in the arm.

Jason got up. “You can walk, right? Or do I have to carry you again?”

“Asshole.” Nico staggered to his feet with Jason’s help.

“Come on! I will get us both McD’s once the war is over...”

“I will hold you to that.”

The duo spent the rest of the evening in the base cafeteria, having deep conversations and exchanging their thoughts late into the night before their CO Bradford ordered them to tuck in for the night. Jason slept contentedly that night, ecstatic that he had finally broken through to Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	3. Ready For Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only stopping to point the direction of the Skyranger to a discombobulated businessman, the pair reached the end of the building where it turned left into a dark alley. A man leaned against the wall, writhing and trashing in what seemed to be pain.
> 
> “Senor!” Jason called, “Estás herido?”
> 
> The man began shambling towards the duo. There was something odd in his gait, something unnatural. “Senor?” Alarm bells began ringing in their heads as he, or it, approached. Nico raised his rifle and flipped on his tactical light. “What the...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 28 April 2015. The aliens conduct their first terror attack on humanity in Mexico City. Nico and Jason are part of the squad deployed to save civilians and end the alien menace in the city.
> 
> Not in chronological order, just a heads up. Cheers!

“Well, that certainly was something.”

Jason and Nico laid side by side, caked with dust and debris, panting away like dogs.

“ You think? I’ve never had this much fun in years!” Jason guffawed. “Want to do it again?”

With a grimace on his face, Nico nodded.

* * *

“Listen up, folks! We’ve got a situation on the ground.”

Bradford raised his hand to silence the murmuring parade of soldiers.

“The aliens have changed their tactics. We have just received news that aliens are conducting terror attacks against civilians in Mexico City.”

A short lanky Hispanic heavy pushed his way to the front, teeth gritted. “They are attacking Mexico? My city?! Oh, the bastards will deeply regret this.”

“You’ll have your opportunity, Valdez. We will be deploying a squad in 10 minutes. Valdez, di Angelo, Kane, Grace, you guys are up. Dr. Vahlen and the R&D unit have developed functioning beam weapons and improved our armour capabilities. Laser rifles for Kane and Grace. Di Angelo & Valdez, use the ballistics. Vahlen apologises for the delay in the research of the laser sniper rifle and heavy laser. Your new Carapace Armour is in the armoury. Good luck. Dismissed!”

Nico began running off towards the armoury when he heard familiar footsteps running up behind him.

“You heard that? They actually made fucking laser guns! And I’ll the first guy to actually use them! Damn, I feel like I am in Star Wars now.”

Jason was so gleeful, like a child in a candy store, that even Nico could not help breaking out a smile. He did understand though. Who wouldn’t want to be using humanity’s latest breakthrough in weapons technology? Even he was secretly wishing that the R&D would hurry with his laser sniper rifle.

“I hope you don’t have the aim of a Stormtrooper.”

The Assault was too blissful to listen. A little too blissful, actually, especially when he fired off a testing shot into the ceiling. He remained that way until they stepped onto the Skyranger.

“So, this is your second mission, huh?”

Nico slung his rifle behind his back and checked that his pistol was holstered. If his face was noticeably stony. “Yup. Hope second time’s the charm.”

Jason sat opposite Nico as the bay doors slammed shut and the Skyranger began to ascend. “I’m sure it will. I will make sure it will be.”

Valdez nudged Jason. “Playing the big hermano, huh?”

Jason tried to deny it but Valdez continued, “Oh, please. Even Kane agrees. Right, Kane?”

Kane, the English lady that she was, just raised her eyebrows at them.

Nico remained oblivious to their talk, contemplative as he prepared himself mentally for the battle to come. He had spent the week in the combat training facilities, picking off targets as soon as they appeared. He performed excellently, but even he knew that excellence on the training grounds did not to translate to excellence on the battlefield. If he screwed up here, he was considering dropping out. He did however, wish to stay. He felt he wanted to prove himself to Jason; and he himself didn’t know why.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be approaching Mach 4 in ten seconds. For you landlubbers, that means 3045 miles per hour. Metric users, that would be 1361 metres per second. So, buckle up. ETA 3 minutes.”

The squad put on their helmets. “I’ll have your back, Ghost.”

“And I’ll have yours, Stormkeeper.” Under the helmet, the sniper’s eyes lit up with a smile.

After what seemed like hours, the Skyranger finally slowed down and screeched to a halt. The bay doors opened. “To arms, boys,” Kane muttered, “We’re going in.”

The Skyranger had landed just outside a bar, or rather, what used to be a bar. The scene was that of carnage, with faint screaming, terrified civilians running around like headless chickens, the wailing of sirens and the sound of gun battles in the distance. Several cars had been reduced into flaming wrecks, some whose occupants had evidently not escaped the flames. The building itself had taken a beating, having an entire portion of wall collapse into rubble.

A wailing young woman, donning a shredded evening dress, hobbled past the Skyranger. An elderly couple huddled behind a piece of wreckage, terror flashing across their wrinkled faces. Valdez dashed up to them, lugging his light machine gun with him, before querying them in Spanish.

Nico surveyed the butchery before him. His initial reaction was that of shock and fear, but he started feeling something primal rising from him. A feeling of seething intense rage began to build. For every drop of human blood they spill, the aliens were going to be made to pay tenfold. He would see to that.

“Movement! Two Floaters up ahead!”

Kane dashed behind a truck to take cover from the plasma bolts of the first hostile contacts of the mission. The Floaters, grotesque cyborgs with back-mounted jetpacks advanced on Kane’s position, letting out a muffled scream of pain and rage. Their increase in aggression seemingly corresponded with a decrease in their intelligence, for they failed to notice Jason scurrying around their flanks. With a burst of energy, the Assault charged forward into a hail of plasma. By what only could be described as divine providence or a testament to his reflexes, he closed in within less than a metre from the pair without a scratch and fired his rifle. A powerful blast of red light struck the closest Floater in the chest, leaving a gaping smoking grisly hole of flesh and blood as the creature slammed onto the ground.

“Oorah!” Jason pumped his fist into the air. “Boom, boom, pew!”

“Shut it, Grace! Its partner is not happy!” warned Kane.

“Hulk! Angel! Pin him down! Let Ghost have his first kill.”

Nico’s ear perked up. Kane began firing burst of beams at the Floater. A mighty roar emerged from Valdez. “Let them have the traditional welcome?! Sure thing!” He stepped out from his cover, wielding his hulk of a machine gun. “Die, you hijo de puta, die!” He cackled maniacally as he fired barrage after barrage of slugs at the Floater, which was trying helplessly to raise its head without getting a hemispherectomy.

The sniper drew his pistol as he dashed forward to close the distance between him and it. He had nothing against his rifle, but he always had the feeling that the pistol was more of a personal weapon. “Take your time, take a breath, take the shot.” Jason’s calm voice buzzed through the radio. Nico raised his pistol. He aligned his sight with his target. Every few moments, between the bursts of fire, the Floater raised its head just slightly above its cover.

He took a breath. The Floater emerged. He pulled the trigger. The fiend fell screeching, three bullets lodged in its skull.

“Holy shit! First blood, Ghost!” Jason whooped. Valdez gave Nico a high-five while Kane just gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

Jason cleared his throat. “Alright, people. I doubt the greys sent just two Floaties to terrorise the area. Hulk, go with Angel! Clear the building and get the civs out of there! Ghost, on me!”

As Valdez and Kane started bundling civilians into the Skyranger, Jason beckoned Nico towards his position. “You did good there, di Angelo,” he praised as they fist-bumped. “Thanks.” Nico’s blood vessels pumped with adrenaline at his first kill. It was like a buzz, after drinking a good strong cup of coffee, only with guns and aliens involved.

Jason helped Nico up. “Let’s go. We’ll run a perimeter check round the building.”

Only stopping to point the direction of the Skyranger to a discombobulated businessman, the pair reached the end of the building where it turned left into a dark alley. A man leaned against the wall, writhing and trashing in what seemed to be pain.

“Senor!” Jason called, “Estás herido?”

The man began shambling towards the duo. There was something odd in his gait, something unnatural. “Senor?” Alarm bells began ringing in their heads as he, or it, approached. Nico raised his rifle and flipped on his tactical light. “What the...”

It was a man, alright. Was. Its eyes glowed red, no pupils in sight. Its skin was a translucent lime green. It was hunched over, slobbering as it glared unintelligibly at Jason and Nico.

Jason aimed his rifle at the thing, muttering, “First, aliens. Now, zombies. What's next? Sectoid leprachauns?!” He blasted a beam at the ‘zombie’. It flinched as the beam found its mark, but it did not fall. It just pissed it off. It began shambling towards them, growling and snarling as it approached. Jason fired a second time, but it only seemed to drive it forward. “Damn it! Ghost! Take the shot!” Nico extended his left arm, balancing his gun on it. The zombie lumbered unconcernedly into his sights, head, body and legs. One gunshot later, its brain tissue was splattered across the wall and the zombie staggered for a bit before collapsing onto the ground. “Boom,” Nico smirked. “Headshot.”

A blood-curdling guttural growl alerted both of them to incoming danger. A trio of creatures leapt effortlessly from the roof metres away from them. Monstrous abominations of purple insects, turned towards them, their glowing eyes glowering at them. “Shit.” Jason shot at the closest one. The resulting burn did nothing more than mildly annoy it. “Run!” They both turned and ran with the bugs hot on their tail.

Nico raced forward, hoping to meet up with Valdez and blast the bugs with his rocket launcher. He screeched to a halt when he realised Jason was not with him. He turned around. Jason was caught in a life-or-death struggle blocking the bug he shot with his rifle, with the abomination snapping and slobbering slime all over his face. The two other bugs were rushing to surround Jason.

“Jason!” Nico shrieked. Jason looked over his shoulder with a sad smile. “Don’t wait up for me! I’ll be fine!” The two bugs were ten metres away. Nico’s mind raced to evaluate his options. Valdez and Kane were nowhere to be seen. Shooting all the bugs down was possible, but there was no time. He then noticed the intact Chevy behind the lead bug. He pulled out his grenade. He charged towards Jason while pulling out the pin. The other bugs were just behind the car. He had seconds. “Jason!” The assault turned his head. “Grenade!” Jason shoved the bug one last time with his rifle before racing towards Nico. The sniper lobbed his grenade. The grenade did not kill the bugs outright, but the resulting fireball from the exploding Chevy did.

The blast slammed the assault into the sniper and they were both thrown back a short distance. Both were shaken, but thankful to be alive.

* * *

 

“So, how does it feel to be a Squaddie?” Jason had been waiting for Nico to emerge from the Commander’s Headquarters with his promotion and maybe, a medal or two.

Nico could not help feeling a bit of pride as he looked at the new chevrons on his sleeve and the shimmering star medal that stayed pinned to his breast.

He looked at Jason with a bashful smile. “It’s Corporal, actually.”

Nico took a step back as his friend let out a whoop before giving him a high-five.

“A two-rank promotion after a single mission? That’s a first!”

“It is?” quizzed Nico.

“Yup,” Jason confirmed. “A first in the history of XCOM!”

Jason let that fact sink in for a moment.

He scratched the back of his head. “So, uh, you saved me from becoming bug chow.”

His eyes met Nico’s.

“I owe you my thanks.”

Nico shook his head, laughing. “No need. I just had to repay a debt. You saved my life once, and now I’ve saved yours. We’re even now.”

“So...” began Jason, “does this mean I don’t have to buy you McD’s after the war?”

The blonde yelped as Nico punched him in the shoulder.

The alarms began blaring as Bradford announced that alien abductions were being reported and ordered a squad that included Nico and Jason to assemble in the hangar immediately.

“So, ready to go, Corporal?”

“More than ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermano: Brother
> 
> Hijo de puta : Son of a bitch
> 
> Estás herido : Are you hurt
> 
> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	4. In the Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Beautiful, aren’t they?” Jason plopped himself next to Nico before detaching his helmet as well. “Yes,” agreed Nico. They sat in silence, just relishing the moment of peace and quiet that had become so few and precious with the aliens ravaging the Earth. Jason knew Nico appreciated these moments and let him fully have it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21 May 2015. Nico and Jason spend a quiet time together among the tombstones after a mission.

It had been quite some time since Nico was able to gaze into the night sky without the fear of a UFO hovering above him. The skies were cloudless and clear that the stars were able to shine in all their shimmering glory.

Looking at the stunning constellation of stars that began to assemble, Nico laid his new acquired laser sniper rifle by his side as he detached his helmet. The cool night breeze brushed across his face, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He slumped against a gravestone, mind trying to take in the silent performance of the stars dancing across the night sky.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Jason plopped himself next to Nico before detaching his helmet as well. “Yes,” agreed Nico. They sat in silence, just relishing the moment of peace and quiet that had become so few and precious with the aliens ravaging the Earth. Jason knew Nico appreciated these moments and let him fully have it.

“When I was nine,” Nico began suddenly, “my parents took my sister, Bianca, and I to Yosemite for a camping trip.” Jason was curious. Up to this point, he and Nico had talked about almost everything under the sun, but Nico had never before mentioned his family. “We had a campfire, roasted or rather, charred, marshmallows on it. Afterwards, we all just laid down on the picnic mat, facing the sky. My mother taught us the names and shapes of the constellations we saw above, my father tried to point out the man on the moon.” Nico paused. “That seems so long ago.” Jason took a drink of water from his flask before offering it to Nico, who took it and drank before continuing his tale.

“My mother died in a car accident two years later. I still remember, coming home from school with Bianca to find my father on the floor, crying. I had never seen my father cry before.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason whispered. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. And it’s not your fault.”

Nico sighed and fell silent. Jason wondered whether it was just too painful for him to go on. He continued, “Part of my father went into the ground with my mother. He tried to do his best for us, but she was the light of his life, so it grew unbearable for him. He continued on his undertaking business, and tried to be a good parent. Then, one day, he enrolled us in military school.”

“Without your knowledge?” quizzed the shocked Jason. “Without our knowledge,” Nico confirmed. “Why did he do it?” “In a letter he wrote to us after we first arrived at the school, he said he wanted to strengthen us, toughen us up to face the world.” Jason frowned. “I’m not sure that’s how it works.” “Me either. We did not understand it ourselves.”

A shooting star streaked across the sky. “Bianca and I adapted however. She soon shot all the way to the top of the class, with me just right behind her.”

The sniper then choked and looked away from Jason’s eyes. “Then, in her final year, she slipped while walking down a staircase and hit her head hard. She fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital. I was with her when she regained consciousness for the last time.”

A single tear rolled down his cheek. “She made me promise... promise that I would do something with my life to make her proud.”

He let out a sob. Jason immediately wrapped his shoulder round his friend. “Nico...” he began. Nico shook his head. “Don’t. It had nothing to do you with you.” “Maybe,” Jason insisted, “but it still must have been hard to deal with. And I’m sorry you had to go through it.” He held Nico close and let him bury his head into chest, letting out years of grief with his torrent of tears.

After minutes that felt like years, Nico raised his head and dried his tears. “Sorry for turning your armour into a mess,” apologised Nico timidly. “It’s fine! You needed it!” Jason assured.

Jason looked up into the sky. “I never knew my father. He left my mother, my sister and I on our own. My mother kinda lost her mind and she started taking to drink. Ultimately, my mother was deemed not fit to care for me and I was sent to stay with a distant relative. She didn’t really want to have anything to do with me, so she sent me off to a school, Mordanger School.”

“Kind of an ominous name,” noted Nico.

“It was hell. The teachers were dicks and the students were the biggest assholes you can find in the States. I quickly learnt that if I wanted to survive, I had to fight. I trained. Learnt from experience. Beat the fuck out of those who threatened me. Eventually, the assholes knew that I meant business and left me alone. One of the teachers, a retired colonel, recommended me to join the army, and since it meant leaving that fuckhole, I took up the offer. And here I am!”

Nico questioned, “What about your sister?” “Thalia? She’s fine. After my Mom drank herself to death, Thalia went out looking for me. She found me when I was already in the army. We still keep in contact. Last I heard, she is in her own motorcycle gang called ‘The Hunters’.”

“She sounds fun.” Jason chuckled in agreement with Nico.

The waning moon peeked at the duo, bathing them both with its beams. Nico reminisced the days of his innocent childhood, the voices of his loved ones ringing through his mind. Suddenly, he flinched slightly as he felt a warm hand slowly crossing into his own. He looked at the unperturbed Jason, whose eyes glimmered with moonlight.

“Jason?” Immediately, the blonde soldier withdrew his hand, looking rather flabbergasted at himself. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, I swear!” Nico said nothing. He was actually not uncomfortable, just a little stunned that Jason had been holding his hand; and he did not actually mind.

“Seriously?”

Both of them turned their heads to find Kane looming over them with an impish smirk on her face.

“While Valdez and I were busy slaving away dragging salvageables onto the Skyranger, you guys decided to make out in a freaking graveyard? How romantic...”

Jason leapt to his feet. “Come on, Kane! We weren’t making out!” he protested.

She waved him off. “Whatever. Valdez is going to lose his mind if one more Thin Man corpse explodes acid on him when he’s carrying it. Maybe you can help him move the alien bomb onto the ship. Be careful though. We may have deactivated it, but it’s still dangerous nonetheless. Ghost here can try his hand at moving the corpses.”

Without a word more, she walked off towards the Skyranger, like a cat having lost interest in its toy.

“You heard her, Nico. Let’s go.” Jason held out his hand towards Nico.

Nico smiled; and took his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	5. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How far do you want to go?” Nico turned to look at the wide-eyed Jason before slowly purring, “All the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and smut. ;D

Jason has such beautiful eyes, Nico thought to himself as Jason planted a series of kisses on his neck. There was just something alluring about those lightning blue eyes that seemed capable of gazing into his deepest thoughts and fantasies, hopes and dreams. They were lively but gentle, playful but kind. Nico felt that he could spend his entire life just looking into them.

Trying to stifle a moan when he felt Jason’s hot breath on his neck, he cupped Jason’s face between his hands and pressed his face toward his lover’s, eye to eye, nose to nose, lips to lips. “See anything you like?” the blonde chuckled. “You’re beautiful,” Nico whispered seductively.

Jason grinned. “That’s what all the other girls said.” The black-haired soldier threw him back playfully with a mock face of annoyance. “Cheeky bastard.” “Lovable cheeky bastard,” corrected Jason as he wrapped his arms around Nico and flipped them over so that Nico ended up straddling his hips.

Nico touched his lover’s face gently, before resting his head on Jason’s shoulder. “How far do you want to go?” murmured Jason. Nico turned to look at the wide-eyed blonde before slowly purring, “All the way.”

The blonde let out a throaty moan as he made out with him, brushing their lips together, requesting access into his mouth. Their tongues massaged one another as Jason brushed his fingers through Nico’s unkempt mop of inky-black hair. Jason was mildly startled when Nico suddenly sat up, breaking contact with him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly. With his only response being a playful smile, Nico stripped off his shirt to show off his body to his lover. Jason’s breath hitched as he ogled Nico’s bare chest. While he was not as buff as Jason, Nico did certainly have an impressive set of muscles of his own. Jason sat up, wanting to caress every nook and cranny of Nico’s body before he was pushed back onto the bed.

“Not yet,” Nico teased softly. “You know, you are being pretty pushy,” complained Jason with a huff. Nico leaned in to Jason’s ear. “How about I do the pushing and you do the thrusting?” he proposed. Jason inhaled sharply at his lover’s proposition. Laying his hands on Jason’s chest, he began pulling off the assault trooper’s shirt, exposing every one of his abs with a near agonising slow pace. Nico was generally a composed person, but even he could not resist drooling over Jason’s washboard abs, the result of his many long torturous hours working out at the gym. Jason felt his face turning red, but at the same time, he felt pleased with himself that he and only he could provoke such a reaction from Nico.

He traced his finger around Nico’s abdominal muscles, running circles around each one before moving down to the next one. Soon, he was following Nico’s happy trail that disappeared into his pants. Nico was evidently sporting a hard-on, and why shouldn’t he be? Jason was basically an Adonis; an embodiment of male beauty and perfection. The sniper shuddered with excitement when Jason moved his head downwards, all the way down till his face was opposite the evident tent in Nico’s pants. “Please...” Jason was bemused by his lover’s shaky whimpering and he clinched his teeth round his zipper, slowly pulling it down.

Jason shot up in his bunk, his bare body sweating buckets and his breath coming out in heavy wet pants. What the hell was that? He felt his underwear and jolted when he felt a small cold wet patch on it. Had he really been dreaming of screwing around with Nico?

The blonde climbed out of bed before walking over to the toilet sink, washing the sweat off his face. He looked himself at the mirror, his haunted eyes and the dark circles that surrounded them stared back right at him. His mind was in an utterly muddled state for he was lost at what to make of his dream. He had been about to enter coitus with Nico, his best friend. Was he gay? An hour ago, he might have denied it, but now? Jason shook his head as he realised that he might actually be holding tender feelings for the black-haired, olive-skinned soldier. He could not shake off the feeling that deep down, he actually wished that his erotic fantasy was more than that, a reality. Jason would have continued to be in his discombobulated state if not for a quiet rapping on his door.

“Nico, it’s late. What do you want?” Nico’s usually unkempt hair was an even messier mop of hair that night. His dark eyes were evading Jason’s and he kept looking at his own feet. “I know this sounds extremely weird, but I was wondering whether...” His voice trailed off as he looked away. “Dude, just spill. I won’t judge,” Jason assured comfortingly.

"I was wondering whether I could spend the night in your room. I couldn’t sleep.”

Nico looked up at Jason, his dark eyes pleading with him. God, were they powerful. Jason caved in immediately. “Sure. Non problemo.” Jason stood aside, letting Nico amble into his room with his pillow under his arm. Nico was highly apologetic for interrupting Jason’s sleep but he would have none of it. “I was planning a slumber party at some point,” Jason laughed, “but since you’re already here, I think we can have a sleepover.”

“Thanks.”

Placing his pillow next to Jason’s, he clambered into Jason’s bunk. Jason followed suit, as excited as a puppy to be sharing his bed with his best friend. Switching off the lights, the two just laid in bed in silence, Nico’s back toward Jason.

Nico flinched as he suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him. He was wondering whether he should wriggle his way out of Jason’s grasp before he realised that he was actually feeling rather comfortable in Jason’s arms. He closed his eyes, silently whispering, “Goodnight, Jason.” Jason resisted planting a kiss on Nico, instead stroking his hair gently before the two friends drifted off into the land of peaceful sleep, where nothing could harm them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me, for this is my first time writing smut.
> 
> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	6. Red Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nico!”
> 
> Jason’s heart palpitated wildly as the sniper disappeared into the thick smoke toward the wounded cries of Valdez. Sweat stung his eyes, adrenaline surged through his veins, and his pulse quickened its pace against his will. 
> 
> Turning toward the weeping Kane, the assault trooper bellowed, “I’m going in! Hold the fort!” Despite Kane’s protests that the Skyranger was going to take off in less than a minute, Jason charged out into the smoke, calling out Nico’s name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 June 2015. The Summer Solstice. Strange happenings are taking place in a small fishing village in Newfoundland, Canada. Nico, Jason and Delta Squad are sent to investigate.

“Listen up, people! I have a few announcements to make, so pay attention!”

Bradford paced around in front of the assembly of XCOM soldiers, slouched with hands behind his back. His obvious frown indicated that something major was up; at least that was what Nico could deduce.

Jason stood several ranks in front of him, due to his rank of Colonel. He had been behaving a little unusual since the night before when he let Nico share his bunk. He was not unfriendly, quite the opposite of that, but there was just something in his voice that bothered Nico, that and the fact that Jason had been averting his gaze the whole morning. Nico was somewhat uneasy, for he wondered if he had indeed freaked Jason out or something. In any case, finding out the truth would have to wait for Bradford had stopped pacing and faced the troops directly.

“Firstly, the good news. Major Zhang and Major Levesque, report to the Commander’s Quarters for commendation and promotion to Colonel. Your success in capturing the alien Muton alive with its plasma rifle intact will prove extremely beneficial to XCOM. Dr. Vahlen thanks you both and expresses hope that more effort will be made in securing live alien specimens. Also, expect plasma weaponry soon from R&D.”

He raised his hand to silence the cheers that broke out at the news of the two soldiers’ promotion. “We also have a new situation to attend to. All except for Delta Squad may leave the hall.”

As soon as the last remaining soldier streamed out of the room, Bradford beckoned the squad members to come to him. Nico noticed an armoured East Asian soldier with an eye patch, standing in the darkness behind the central officer with his arms folded. Feeling a quick nudge on his shoulder, Nico turned to see Jason cocking his head toward Bradford. His eyes were still avoiding Nico’s, further perplexing the sniper and plaguing him with tormenting thoughts.

Bradford began, “The Canadian government has requested our assistance in investigating a small fishing village near St. John’s, Newfoundland. The village has gone dark and drone surveillance can find no signs of life. We suspect alien involvement. Delta Squad, you are to head over to investigate and find out what’s going on.”

The eyepatch soldier stepped forward. The glossy-haired man donned an armour that appeared lighter compared to the Carapace Armour. Nico also noticed some device that was attached to the man’s left arm.

“Delta Squad, meet Captain Ethan Nakamura, of the JSDF.”

Nakamura gave a polite bow. “Konnichi wa. It is my greatest honour to serve alongside XCOM’s finest troopers.”

“What’s with the armour?” Valdez asked.

“R&D’s newest development, the Skeleton Suit,” explained Bradford, “Just take it as a lighter Carapace Armour with enhanced mobility features. Captain Nakamura, Colonel Kane will mentor you. Dr. Shen has installed real-time cameras into all your headgear, so everything you see will be seen by us. Best of luck, Delta Squad.”

As the squad began marching off in the direction of the hangar, Nico tugged at Jason’s sleeves. “Jason,” he hissed, “Could we talk for a moment?” “Later, di Angelo. We are kind of busy here.” Nico felt a little hurt by the fact that Jason had not even bothered to look at him once while talking, just looking straight forward as though he was not there.

Nico intercepted Jason and blocked his way. “You’ve been avoiding my eyes the whole day. What’s wrong?” he pleaded. For a brief moment, their eyes met, lightning blue greeting dark brown. He could instantly see that Jason’s usually expressive eyes were filled with worry. Jason was hiding something from Nico but what? “It’s complicated,” mumbled Jason, his eyes breaking contact once more. “I see,” Nico sighed disappointedly.

Not a word was exchanged between Jason and Nico when they geared up or when they boarded the Skyranger or during the journey to the investigation site. The usual racket Delta Squad kicked up in the Skyranger was replaced with an uncomfortable silence. Kane elbowed Valdez, jerking her head toward Nico and Jason, usually the best of friends but now silently sitting away from each other. Valdez shrugged. He too had no idea what the heck was going on between the two.

“Doors will open in 5 seconds. Stay safe, people,” cautioned the pilot.

The village was akin to a picture from a Hallmark Christmas card, with snowflakes drifting down slowly onto the sparkly ground. Yet, something was most definitely wrong. For one, there was absolutely no one in sight. There was a sense of frightful danger that hanged in the cold night air, as though the place harboured a dark secret.

The radio beeped as a transmission came in from Bradford. “Local government officials were responding to a mayday signal when all contact was lost...from the ship, the village, and the rescue team itself. Delta Squad will need to move in and secure the area...find out what happened...”

A blood-curdling scream pierced through the silence of the night. Its inhumanness paralysed everyone with fear; the entire squad stood petrified for a few seconds.

Valdez was the first to recover, charging towards the door of the office building from which the scream originated and kicking it open. Lo and behold, a bug, or a Chrysallid as Dr. Vahlen called them, held aloft its latest victim, a middle-aged woman with her throat ripped out, like an athlete does his trophy. In a stomach-churning scene, the Chrysallid proceeded to vomit down its victim’s throat before throwing the corpse aside. Its attention turned towards Delta Squad, its yellow eyes glowing menacingly at Valdez before mindlessly charging at the squad. Moments later, its smoking corpse was left twitching as the squad entered the building, guns at the ready.

“HQ, I think we may have a Chrysallid problem on our hands.”

“Copy that, Stormkeeper. Keep your eyes wide open.”

Nico stood over the Chrysallid’s victim, with Nakamura examining the body. From the corner of his eye, the sniper swore that he saw the victim’s hand twitch. Before he could warn him, Nakamura was flying across the room, slamming into a wall. The red-eyed corpse started to rise, at least, before Nico jammed his gun into its mouth and pulled the trigger, splattering himself with brain matter.

“Incoming!” A window shattered as another zombie clambered into the room. As the squad raised their guns to fire, the zombie started to convulse violently, like a person having a seizure. It collapsed to the ground, writhing frantically as blood began spewing in every direction. Taking no chances, Delta Squad let loose a volley of red beams at the zombie. In an explosion of blood and organs, the corpse disappeared, leaving nothing but a Chrysallid carcass.

“Well, that was new,” Bradford commented. “At least, now we know how the Chrysallids reproduce. Keep an eye out for anything else they may be nesting in.”

“So, the Chrysallids are essentially xenomorphs?” Kane wondered aloud as she prodded at the carcass.

“Maybe Ridley Scott is an alien!” Nakamura hypothesised.

Valdez snorted. “Mierda! If there was anyone who could be alien, it would be Senor Donald Trump. His hair looks like a Facehugger, si?”

Jason reloaded his rifle. “Come on, squad. We still need to find the source of the infestation.”

For the next half an hour, the village was illuminated with red streaks of laser as Delta Squad fought its way through the pods of Chrysallids that lurked within. As they approached the end of the village, Jason spotted a large structure looming in the darkness. Nico also noticed it and peered at the thing with his tactical scope. “Looks like a ship.” “Whaling ship,” Nico confirmed.

“HQ, do you see this?”

“I see it, Stormkeeper and I also see what Daimyo’s looking at.”

Nakamura pointed towards a shark that hung from a hook some distance away. Like the exploding zombie, the dead shark was thrashing and writhing, clearly with a Chrysallid inside.

Valdez aimed his rocket launcher. “Nope!” he laughed as he fired a rocket at the fish. The emerging Chrysallid’s remains were incinerated instantly.

“Delta Squad,” called Bradford, “approach the ship with extreme caution. It looks like it crashed into the pier rather than docked. I take it that it was overrun. The Chrysallids may be using the ship as a nest of some kind. Watch out.”

“I guess we should be glad it wasn’t a cruise liner,” Kane admitted.

Nico shuddered at the thought.

There was a gaping breach in the ship’s hull, exposing the contents of its hold to the squad. Blood drained from everyone’s face when they laid their eyes on the whale carcass that laid in the cargo hold. Its side had been completely ripped open, its putrid flesh polluting the air. The Chrysallids had unmistakably been using the carcass as a nest, for protruding out of the whale’s sides were entire clusters of egg sacs, each with possibly a dozen nearly mature Chrysallids wriggling inside.

As though things were not already tense to the extreme, Bradford radioed in again. "Delta Squad, our sensor readings are picking up a whole lot of activity from inside the hold of that ship. I think you're about to have a lot of company headed your way, but nothing you've got on-hand is going to be enough for this one. What we need is an airstrike... if you can reactivate that ship's transponder; we can have air support pinpoint your location."

The squad was about to find away up to the upper deck when Nakamura raised his left arm and a grappling hook shot upwards, pulling him all the way up.

“Damn, I want that,” Valdez grumbled.

It was an anxious wait as Nakamura disappeared from their sight for several nail-biting minutes before suddenly dropping down next to them. "The ship's transponder is active and transmitting...you need to get moving Delta Squad, that whole place is going up in a matter of minutes and anyone left behind is as good as dead,” Bradford warned.

The squad started walking back toward the Skyranger when an ear-splitting crack drew their attention back to the ship. The egg sacs started to burst open and a familiar animalistic growl was heard. A Chrysallid appeared at the breach, glaring at the squad with its menacing eyes. More eyes joined it.

“Run for it!” In a mad scramble, Delta Squad dashed across the pier, with the horde of Chrysallids closing in rapidly on them. His lighter armour offering him more mobility, Nakamura outran his comrades with ease. Nico noticed that a strung-up shark that laid in Nakamura’s path was starting to sway unnaturally. He realised the danger.

“Nakamura!” the sniper hollered a little too late. As Nakamura dashed past the shark, an explosion of shark flesh and bone threw him flat on the pier. The emergent Chrysallid showed him no mercy, ripping out his throat in a horrifically bloody mess and vomiting into him.

A wretched cry of despair escaped from Kane as she saw the gory fate of her charge. “Through the village!” shouted Jason. The winding alleys provided some distance between the squad and the Chrysallids but as Nico ran round the corner of a stall, a Chrysallid landed straight on him. “Nico!” Every bone in Jason’s body froze in terror as the Chyrsallid lifted the dazed Nico effortlessly, too far away for Jason to save him.

A barrage of laser beams from Valdez’s heavy laser gun scorched the Chrysallid’s back, giving Nico enough to time to draw his laser pistol and blast a hole in the monster’s head. “Run, Fantasma, run!” “But,” stammered Nico. “Run!” Valdez began firing wildly at the rapidly approaching horde as Nico ran towards Jason, the heavy making his last stand. Jason grabbed Nico by the arm, scurrying toward the Skyranger when they heard Valdez let out a roar followed by a deafening explosion. Tears streamed down Nico’s face as he realised Valdez’s sacrifice.

Kane was already inside the Skyranger, frantically warning them that the airstrike was imminent. “We need to go!” As the duo stepped on the ship, Nico’s sensitive ears picked up a distinct cry of pain amidst the deafening roar of the turbines. Could it be?

“Nico!”

Jason’s heart palpitated wildly as the sniper disappeared into the thick smoke toward the wounded cries of Valdez. Sweat stung his eyes, adrenaline surged through his veins, and his pulse quickened its pace against his will.

Turning toward the weeping Kane, the assault trooper bellowed, “I’m going in! Hold the fort!” Despite Kane’s protests that the Skyranger was going to take off in less than a minute, Jason charged out into the smoke, determined to find Nico.

“Nico!” he called once more. He could barely see a feet in front of him as the explosion had kicked up clouds of snow, dust and debris. Suddenly, he saw a human figure shambling through the dust towards him. “Nico?” “Over here!” Jason turned around to see Nico piggy-backing the wailing Valdez, or rather, what remained of him. As he took a step toward them, Nico’s eyes widened. “Look out!”

A titanic punch threw knocked the breath out of Jason. As his vision readjusted, he saw Nakamura, or Nakamura’s corpse shambling toward him, solitary eye glowing blood red. He felt an arm grab his. “We’ve no time!” Nico shrieked. Against all odds, Nico lifted Jason and yanked him all the way to the ship. Nakamura’s corpse followed, its mouth twisted in an unsightly grin.

“Wait for us!” Kane stood at the door of the Skyranger, mouth agape seeing Valdez somewhat alive and the zombie that had been Nakamura. Nico heard the screaming noise of a rapidly approaching fighter jet approaching the area. “Take my hand!” Kane screamed as the Skyranger began to lift off. With a final desperate burst of energy and a cry of desperation, the sniper literally hurled himself and his companions into the ship, leaving the zombie to growl harmlessly at them. Kane shed a tear as she aimed her rifle at it, and blasted away.

The Skyranger was a scene of bloody chaos as Valdez screamed in excruciating agony and Jason could only wince painfully. The Mexican’s lower body had been shredded into nothing but muscle and hanging threads of tissue. He literally had lost his guts as well as his legs. The floor of the Skyranger was stained with blood and fluids.

Kane did her best to attend to Valdez while Nico ran up to Jason. “You are hurt!” Nico gasped as he stripped Jason’s armour off. His side was badly bruised, with ugly patches of purple over his skin.

“I think Nakamura broke quite a few of my ribs. God, was that thing strong.” He gazed into Nico’s worried eyes. “You saved us both. I owe you a lot.”

Nico shook his head. “No, you don’t. I will do it again if I have to.”

Jason gritted his teeth as he shifted his body slightly. “Go help Kane. I will live, thanks to you.” Through his pain, he managed a goofy grin like he did the first time he and Nico met. This time, Nico smiled back.

The Skyranger flew into the night, one member short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	7. The Truth Unravels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, this seems familiar.”
> 
> Jason waved weakly as the cheerful Nico entered the medical bay, with a white box in one hand and a smaller black box in the other. He was immaculately dressed in his grey parade uniform, with a new gleaming shield-shaped medal hanging pinned next to his Urban Combat Badge. Nico sat in the chair next beside Jason’s bedside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27 June 2015. Nico visits Jason in the medical bay. Some truths are revealed as the two soldiers open up further to one another.
> 
> Fluff time. If you're expecting action and fighting, it's not this chapter. Cheers!

“Well, this seems familiar.”

Jason waved weakly as the cheerful Nico entered the medical bay, with a white box in one hand and a smaller black box in the other. He was immaculately dressed in his grey parade uniform, with a new gleaming shield-shaped medal hanging pinned next to his Urban Combat Badge. Nico sat in the chair next beside Jason’s bedside.

“How are you feeling?”

Jason winced as he shifted his position. “It hurts every time I breathe. Like getting punched in the stomach,” he groaned. “How long have I been in here?”

“It’s been a week,” Nico replied, “Time seems to pass really quickly when you are in an underground base, doesn’t it?”

The blonde laid his head back onto his pillow. He had been drifting in and out of unconsciousness as the medical team had left him heavily sedated until that morning. He only had brief moments of consciousness for the past few days.

“Did I miss anything?”

Nico pondered for a moment. “Three days after our mission, the aliens launched a terror attack on Beijing. The death toll was quite bad, but Beta Squad managed to deal with it. This morning was Nakamura’s memorial service. I lit a candle for you.”

He pushed the smaller black box into Jason’s hand before opening it. In it was a polished cross medal, the International Service Cross. “The Commander asked me to give this to you.”

“Oh, yes!” Nico remembered, “I got you brownies!”

“Yay, “Jason cheered feebly. He did not wish to appear such a wet blanket, but it did not help that it was excruciatingly painful to breathe, what more laugh. However, Jason did show his appreciation by letting Nico fork-feed him small chunks of the scrumptious chocolate dessert.

As he fed his friend, Nico kept him up-to-date with the latest goings-ons of XCOM. He revealed that apparently Dr. Vahlen had extracted very vital information from her now-deceased Muton captive. “I couldn’t get much out of Solace but he said it involved her sticking prods into its brain,” Nico recounted with a visible shudder. Rumours were abounding in the barracks that HQ was on the verge of finding the alien base of operations. New powerful armour, Titan Armour had just been included in the armoury. R&D had also been able to reverse-engineer the intact plasma rifle and was now able to manufacture its own. Jason let out a laugh, seeing Nico rub with his hands with glee like a child at the imminent construction of his own plasma sniper rifle, before yelping in agony.

Nico placed the fork back into the empty box and placed in on the bedside dresser. He turned toward Jason, now feeling rather full. “Jason, did you see Valdez?”

The assault trooper’s brows furrowed as he tried to recall where and when he had last seen the Mexican. He was certain that he had been wheeled into the medical bay alongside the howling Valdez but the details grew fuzzy after that.

“I think he might have been in here with me for the first few days. He was definitely gone yesterday. I’m not sure,” Jason recalled with uncertainty.

They said nothing, but both soldiers had the guttural feeling that their colleague had not made it. Their eyes betrayed their thoughts to each other. Death was a usual occurrence in a soldier’s life, but it never meant that they should grow accustomed to a death, especially one of a close colleague.

“Jason.”

The blonde looked up.

“What do you think happens after we die?”

He was not the definition of a religious person, not at all. His drunk of a mother was obviously in no state to take him to church. During Sunday services in Mordanger School, he slipped out of the chapel most of the time to avoid having to listen to the parson droning on and on about tedious stuff he did not give a damn about. And in the military, he never attended sermons at all because he would be working out on the field instead. On the other hand, being constantly surrounded by death had at times made him wonder whether there was indeed anything on the other side. For the most part, he guessed it would just an empty void of consciousness, a state of non-being. There were times however when he was not so sure.

“I guess,” Jason opined, “that it depends on what you want to believe. Maybe there is an afterlife, maybe there is...nothing. Who knows?” From the corner of his eye, he noticed a hint of worry slowly creeping into Nico’s face. With some difficulty, Jason leaned out of his bed and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But you want to know what I believe? I believe that deep down inside, we all know where we will go. And I say this; in all honesty, I know that you will be together with your mother, your sister and maybe your father when your time comes.”

Nico placed his hand atop Jason’s. “Will you be there?”

Their eyes met. “I will,” Jason vowed with a reassuring grin.

The world was a better place when he smiled, Nico thought to himself.

The alarms blared as Bradford announced a downed alien battleship in Russia before ordering Beta Squad to assemble in the hangar. Dr. Vahlen cut in, calling that efforts be made to capture an Outsider, the ship’s guardian-cum-captain.

Taking Jason’s hand, Nico placed it back onto the bed, laying it next to Jason’s body. He helped him flip his pillow to the cold side as the commotion died down.

“Jason, please be honest with me when I ask you my next question.” Nico paused. “How did I piss you off last week?”

His eyes widening, Jason shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus, Nico. I wasn’t angry with you. I will never be angry at you!”

“Really? You were doing that avoid-my-eyes thing and going, ‘We’re busy, so no time to talk.’ I really thought I had ticked you off somehow,” admitted Nico.

Feeling like kicking himself, Jason facepalmed himself instead, a la Homer Simpson. “I should have been honest with you, but it was kind of...”

“Complicated?”

“Yeah. It was not at all your fault.”

Jason took a sip of water from his cup. “I was more of ashamed actually.”

“Of what?” Nico sat forward. He noticed that Jason’s cheeks were blushing intensely for some reason.

His answer was delayed as Jason hesitated in giving it. He finally caved in. “I had a dream about you. In it, you were...”

Nico raised his hand to stop Jason from continuing further. “Let me guess. You had a dream where I was in grave danger and you failed to save me. You were worried that your dream was a prophetic one and didn’t tell me about it. Was that it?”

“No.”

“Oh.” The sniper felt silly.

“I dreamt you were going to have sex with me.”

The medical bay stayed silent for some time as Nico tried to process what he just heard while Jason nervously fidgeted with his fingers, waiting for Nico’s response. This was an awkward scenario that Jason had imagined before in his mind but had never hoped to realise it in person. How was anyone supposed to react to a situation like that anyway?

Nico repeated slowly, “You dreamt that I was going to have sex with you?”

Raising his hands up, Jason sighed in resignation. “I know. I’m gross. You have all the right to be disgusted at me.”

“Jason.”

Jason pulled his hair in self-annoyance. “I have no idea why I dreamt that. I’m a sick demented pervert, I admit it.”

“Jason.”

“You know, if you stop talking to me for a while, I’ll understand. It’s your every right to do just...”

“Jason!” hollered Nico.

“Look,” he began, “if you had any control over your dreams, I might have the right to be at the very least, slightly disturbed. But you don’t. Neither of us does. No one does. We don’t have a say in our choice of dreams. To hate you for dreaming about screwing me is a no-brainer. So, no, I’m not upset about that.” His gaze was riveted to the ground in gloom. “You know, you could have just told me the truth. We’ve saved each other’s life before and I have told you some of my life’s most private details, you should have at most expected a laugh from me, especially after the night I’d slept in your bed because I couldn’t fucking sleep.”

He looked up, his face betraying his feeling of bitter disappointment. “You should have trusted me a little more,” he softly murmured.

Jason wanted to apologise, but his mind struggled to find the words to do so. He felt a lump forming in his throat as he looked at Nico’s despondent face. Thinking about it, Nico was right. He had unnecessarily made him feel guilty because he was too cowardly to tell the truth at the risk of being laughed at. His head bowed in shame.

“Do you like me?”

The blonde jerked his head toward Nico.

“Do you like me,” repeated Nico gently, “more than just a friend?”

His stomach began knotting ribbons as all kinds of thoughts raced through Jason’s mind. He was completely unsure on how to answer his friend’s simple question. His heart gave a roaring ‘yes’ while his brain remained cautious, not wanting to shoot himself in the leg again. Silence filled the medicinal-smelling air and Nico’s deep brown eyes stared at Jason, unblinking.

“I...,” he stammered, “I do.” Jason wanted to break open the dam that held back his true feelings for Nico. He wanted to tell him that ever since they met, nothing in his life had ever been the same again. He wanted to tell him that he appreciated every moment they spent together, be it on or off the battlefield, he felt complete. He would have indeed done all that if a single finger had not silenced him.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” whispered Nico. He stood up, with a hint of satisfaction written all over his face. “Don’t expect to get in my pants just because of this, Grace. I’m not a two-cent whore you can just pick up from an alley. It’s going to take quite a lot of work if you want me.” There was something sultry and alluring about how Nico said his last few words that Jason could not help getting somewhat excited, that is until his hitch in breath left him groaning in pain as his chest hurt.

“So, are we like dating or what? You’re okay being with a guy?” enquired Jason hesitantly.

Nico rolled his eyes. “I dig guys. Simple as that.”

Jason scratched the back of his neck. He had a ridiculously long list of questions he wanted to ask, that is before he suddenly found Nico’s lips pressed against his. It lasted for a brief moment, but Jason was already starting to feel comfortable about it.

“Was that our first kiss?”

“Probably. Just don’t die, so it won’t be our last.”

As Nico exited the medical bay with his heart on cloud nine, Jason punched the air with his fists, before wincing as pain surged through his body. His lightning blue eyes, however, lit up with the biggest most radiant smile. With Nico, pain was a joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	8. Only For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I love you, Nico,” he quietly murmured.
> 
> The black-haired soldier buried his head into his boyfriend’s chest.
> 
> “I love you too, Jason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13 August 2015. An abductor ship has been shot down over Australia and Delta Squad is sent to clear it. New members, old members and a familiar face join forces to execute the mission. Steamy scene, ahoy!

Nico had to admit, for a guy of a sizeable frame; Jason was pretty nimble and swift on his feet. The two had been at each other with their mock rifles for nearly half an hour but Nico still had not been able to score a hit on the assault trooper. In a stark contrast, Jason outmanoeuvred his sparring mate with ease, jamming his sponge bayonet into Nico’s torso and tapping his head with the butt of his rifle.

His messy locks of black hair dripped with sweat as he decided to employ a tactic he used back in the academy. He feinted a thrust at Jason and as expected, he sidestepped the bayonet, leaving the side of his head exposed. Taking advantage of it, Nico turned and swung his rifle butt at Jason’s direction, only to swipe through thin air. With a flurry of motion, Jason kicked Nico off his feet and as he began to fall to the arena floor, Jason wrapped his left arm around his back, breaking the fall. Jason grinned like a Cheshire cat as Nico huffed in feigned annoyance.

“Keep your eyes on your enemy, and always hold your ground,” Jason advised.

“Sure thing, master,” acknowledged the fatigued Nico. “Could we take a break now? I feel like I need a long nap.”

“Are you two lovebirds going to start dancing now or what? At least, a dance performance will be more entertaining than seeing you wiping the floor with him.”

Kane sat lazily at the sides of the training arena, arms lazily hanging by her side of her chair. She along with several other operatives had gathered to watch the two spar, only to witness Jason dishing out a trashing to Nico. Some of the operatives had been taking bets on the winner of each round, but after the first round or two, it had become pointless to wager.

The small crowd began dissipating as Jason helped his boyfriend to his feet, handing back his rifle to him. “You did good today,” Jason complimented as he wiped his drenched face with a towel. Nico shook his head in disagreement as he plopped himself onto a bench. “If you meant good at getting my ass kicked, you’re right.” Jason laid his hands on his shoulders and drew his face closer to Nico's. "Trust me when I say, the moves you pulled off back there, would have floored every other soldier on base." His lightning blue eyes gazed into Nico's deep brown eyes. His hands cupping Jason's head, Nico planted a deep kiss on his warm lips. "Flatterer," he murmured softly.

Bradford cleared his throat. "Grace, di Angelo. Clean yourselves up and assemble in the hangar in twenty." After warning them not to delay further, the central officer stride out of the room. Jason helped Nico whilst ruffling his already messy mop of hair. "Time to hit the showers, Neeks. Can't fight the ayys smelling like a dumpster."

Kane was already waiting in the hangar, arguing with Bradford over her not receiving a plasma rifle. He was nonchalantly explaining that a rival paramilitary group had been leeching off XCOM's funds when he noticed Jason and Nico approaching. He halted their argument abruptly and turned to address the two.

"People, it's good to see Delta Squad back in the action again. Your fallen made the greatest sacrifice for humanity's sake and his martyrdom will not be forgotten."

Silence reigned for a brief moment as they mourned Valdez and Nakamura. Heads turned as the doors slid open to allow two soldiers into the hangar. "Delta Squad, meet your newest members, Sergeant Silena Beauregard of the GIGN and Lieutenant Karl Beckendorf of the KSK.” The two made their introductions to Delta Squad. Nico noted that they were seemingly inverses of one another, with Beauregard being a gorgeous and deadly femme fatale and the brawny Afro-German Beckendorf wearing a permanent scowl on his face.

His attention was immediately diverted as he realised the floor shaking beneath them. The doors slid open once more as a strange sight charged into the hangar. The squad took a few steps back to gape dumbfounded at the hulk of metal that stood before them. Bradford was the sole person to remain calm as he remained next to the colossus. It could only be described as a large, walking bipedal tank and looked like something out of a sci-fi movie or game. Standing at twice his size, Nico could not help noticing the bulky minigun it effortlessly wielded in its left hand. The face of the battlesuit’s pilot was obscured by the darkly tinted helmet visor.

“People, what you are seeing here is XCOM’s first Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit Trooper or MECT. A powerful battlesuit that can take and dish out massive damage, this MECT will be on your squad from this day onwards.”

Jason stepped forward apprehensively. “Sir, if I may?”

Bradford nodded for him to proceed.

“I perceive that this MECT has a possibly human pilot operating it. Could we have the privilege of knowing the identity of our new colleague?” Jason enquired.

The central officer clasped his hands together. “Oh, you already do know him.”

The visor fell open.

“Greetings, amigos.”

Jason, Nico and Kane were speechless as they stared right at the face of their supposedly-fallen colleague. It was as though as they were looking at a ghost, but the cheerful look of Valdez’s eyes said otherwise.

“Valdez?”

“Affirmative.” The Mexican’s orotund voice had been replaced with an emotionless monotonic synthesised voice. While Nico was delighted to see that his colleague was definitely alive, his voice was starting to edge into uncanny valley creepiness. It barely helped that his lips remained motionless as he spoke.

"Valdez's wounds were far from superficial," revealed Bradford, "and if not for Dr. Vahlen's research and Dr. Shen's engineering expertise, he might have ended his service a paraplegic. The alien Meld substance however proved to have many uses, one of which was to allow Engineering to augment his body and provide him with a fully functional cybernetic suit. To enable his continued service on the battlefield, the MEC was created as an armoured combat unit."

The squad had tonnes of questions, but they had to take a backseat as there was a mission at hand.  
As Bradford switched on the holoprojector, satellite images of a crashed UFO burning in a swamp appeared onscreen. "Our interceptors successfully brought down an abductor ship over Arafura Swamp, Australia. Intel indicates some surviving crew. Your mission is to secure the area. However, the Commander has explicitly tasked you, Delta Squad, to capture an Outsider intact."

Nico was baffled. While he and his squad had been off the roster for the past weeks, it had been repeated over and over again to squads heading out on missions to attempt capture of an Outsider. He had encountered and destroyed Outsiders before, humanoid robots whose bodies disintegrated into crystal shards. Surely capture of a single one would not be a Herculean task.

After some thinking, Nico recalled a conversation he had with Dr. Solace some days back regarding Dr. Vahlen's repeated calls to capture an Outsider. "Surely one of the squads should have been able to nab one by now," Nico had suggested. Will shrugged, pointing out that the brittleness of the Outsider left it vulnerable to destruction even by ballistic weaponry. "Vahlen can do shit with only the crystal shards," mused the doctor.

Once the mission briefing was over, everyone began equipping their gear and guns. Nico joined Jason who was in deep conversation with Valdez. As he approached, the MEC trooper turned to look at him and his generally motionless face actually shot him a friendly smile.

"Fantasma. Long time no see. Apologies for getting my blood all over your armour," Valdez jokingly apologised. Nico still felt that his robotic voice was pretty jarring, especially when he knew what Valdez had sounded like.

"Está bien. I see you've gained quite some weight," Nico chuckled.

Valdez opened his mouth to let out a guffaw, only to frown when he remembered his vocal chords had been removed. After promising that he would catch up with them post-mission, he hurriedly boarded the Skyranger.

"They actually hacked off his limbs," Jason confided.

Nico was mortified but skeptical. "Even his healthy arms?"

Jason nodded. "He said they replaced his arms and legs with mechanical limbs. I get the legs part but were the arms necessary?"

The sniper remained pensive as he slung his sniper rifle around his back. "I guess it must have been for the sake of combat effeciency. It's not like Engineering hacks limbs off for fun. And look on the bright side, if we all make it out of the war alive, Valdez should be able to return to society without a hitch. In fact, bionic limbs will help improve so many people's lives."

Admitting Nico's logic, Jason said little. As they were boarding the Skyranger, Jason turned to Nico. "If it were me instead of Valdez, would you have been okay with it?"

In most circumstances, Nico would have laughed off Jason's question but from his face alone, Nico knew that he would greatly appreciate a sincere answer, one straight from his heart. He grabbed his boyfriend by the collar and pulled him down to face level; their height distance was an occasional inconvenience.

"Jason, even if you were deaf, blind, mute, paralysed, mad and limbless, you can be damn sure that I'll be by your side all the way, I can swear to that."

The blonde lit up with a radiant smile.

"For crying out loud, the amount of cheese here is fucking overpowering! If you guys plan on making out, I know of a broom closet in the barracks! Seriously, even a Frenchie would cringe at this much cheese!"

Kane did not seem to notice Beauregard staring daggers at her.

The Skyranger took off to Down Under.

* * *

  
The swamp was a dreary place, its water murky and the air foul. Torrents of water gushed from the impenetratable canopy of trees as claps of thunders were heard from the skies above.

Nico gagged as the sickly mud sucked his boots in. Struggling to free himself, he only found himself sinking deeper into the mud and only by taking Jason's hand was he able to pull himself out of the mudpit. The rain poured mercilessly as the squad trudged through the dark swamp, filthy and drenched.

"You guys found anything?" Beauregard enquired through the radio.

"Negative, Pixie. Stormkeeper out."

The thickness of the swamp had prevented them from being dropped closer to the crash site, hence why they were trudging towards its general direction.

Nico was wiping his visor dry when he noticed the top of the trees ahead had been broken off. As he was about to point this out to Jason and Kane, the latter called them both over to her.

"Holy fuck. This thing's huge."

"Saltwater crocodile," Kane confirmed. "Largest living reptile. But something tore it apart like papier-mache."

The reptile's carcass was a disturbing mess of blood, guts and hide. Nico felt the colour leaving his face as it was clearly not the handiwork of any of the aliens he had encountered. Surely the one that eviscerated the crocodile must be of immense strength. And how many more aliens was XCOM to meet?

A ferocious roar snapped the trio's attention toward a nearby clearing. Three aliens started rapidly making their way to them. Two were Mutons, familiar foes. Their new friend however was clearly the greatest threat.

Unlike the average Muton, this new alien was clad in red armour which covered it from head to toe. Also, it was larger. And a lot angrier. While the Mutons exchanged fire with the squad, the Berserker charged recklessly toward the three humans. Its lack of a ranged weapon and the cruel blades on the back of its hand betrayed its intentions: it wanted to rip them apart.

Stabilising his rifle on his forearm, Nico aimed at the oncoming hunk of muscle, placing it within his sights. Everything seemed to grind to a slow halt as Nico wrapped his finger round the trigger. Despite the chaos of battle erupting around him, the only thing that he heard was the sound of his own heartbeat and of his breathing. As the Berserker took a step forward, Nico let loose a burning beam of light at the beast. It struck the Berserker right in the temple and for a moment, it reeled, but it did not fall.

The shot that would have killed any regular Muton seemed to merely bruise the brute. Just a scratch. Pounding at its chest, the Berserker raced forward, murderous and bloodthirsty. Jason managed to finish off one Muton and was about to engage the other when he saw the hulking behemoth heading right for their position. Both he and Kane trained their sights on it and blasted away. Each blast seemed to have no effect other than enraging it. The Berserker drew closer, forty yards, thirty yards, twenty yards, ten yards.

With a violent thud, the beast landed in the midst of the trio. With a single hand, it swept Kane cursing into the air as Jason and Nico fired their weapons point-blank at the heavily-armoured alien. Kane yelled more colourful insults as the brute prepared to strike the killing blow.

"Engaging in close combat."

The Berserker dropped Kane unceremoniously as Valdez's oversized fist struck its helmet in. Nico helped her scurry away as the furious behemoth leapt onto Valdez, expecting to squash him like a bug. The MECT threw it back a good ten yards away, and as the Berserker foolishly tried charging at it once more, Valdez pulled his left fist back, ignited its rocket propulsors and crushed its helmet and skull with a sickening crunch.

"Buenas noches."

Jason pumped his fist into the air. "Holy fuck, Hulk! That was fucking awesome!"

This was akin to a real-life reenactment of Pacific Rim, Nico mused to himself. He checked up on Kane, only to find that the Berserker's blades had not hurt her despite leaving a massive gash in her Titan armour.

A hissing bolt of green plasma struck Valdez's armour, returning the soldiers' attention to the remaining Muton. Valdez raised his minigun and let loose hails after hails of lead, turning the log that the Muton was cowering behind into splinters. Jason charged forward and promptly fried the exposed alien.

"Seriously, the answer was simple! Flashbang the bastard before stunning him to hell. Why didn't anyone try it?"

Beauregard and Beckendorf plodded through the mud toward them, Outsider shard intact in the latter's hand.

The two surveyed the scene.

"We missed much, didn't we?"

* * *

 

"Nico! You awake? Come on, we need to talk."

Jason rapped his knuckles on the door of Nico's quarters, the hollow echo travelling down the empty corridor. Pacing back and forth, Jason started to wonder if Nico was indeed deep asleep when the door slid open.

"Hmph..."

Nico mumbled incoherently with his toothbrush and toothpaste foam still in his mouth. He gestured for Jason to wait inside while he cleaned himself up.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked concernedly. He had spent enough time with Jason to know the look that he wore was one of utter seriousness. He plopped down next to Jason who sat on the side of his bed with hands between his legs.

"They've found the alien base," Jason announced.

"What? Where? How?"

Jason shrugged. "Vahlen did her stuff with the Outsider shard. Turns out the base is underground in Siberia. The news will be announced tomorrow."

Nico was ecstatic. It was just August and now, it seemed that the final battle of the war was here. "So, we're going in there and giving the aliens an ass-kicking?"

"Oh, you definitely will," chuckled Jason as he gave Nico a fist-bump.

"Wait." Nico noticed that Jason had said you instead of we. "You aren't coming?"

The blonde sighed. "The Commander has selected me to be the first to undergo gene-modding. I'll be wheeled in first thing in the morning."

"Wait, what? Gene-modding? As in making tomatoes grow bigger?"

Jason frowned before letting out a laugh. "I'm no tomato, but yeah, basically that. Turns out another capability of the Meld substance is to give us super-human abilities."

The mention of super-human abilities made Nico visualise Jason as Captain America for a few moments. In all honesty, he did actually fit the bill: blonde, tall, buff and American. Nico shook his head. "So, you'll be Captain America."

"If they could give me Chris Evan's looks, that would be cool. But to be frank, I have no idea what they will do to me. Maybe I'll get adamantium claws. Maybe invisibility. Maybe they'll gamma-ray me into the Hulk." Jason pounded his chest in jest. He placed his hand over Nico's. "You'll be fine with me being a freak?"

"Jason, this isn't X-Men. I'm not going to hate you just because you are going to have what are effectively superpowers." Nico turned to look at Jason, appearing amused. "Just don't turn green."

The assault trooper snickered. "I'll see if they can enlarge my...junk."

"Horndog," Nico scolded jokingly.

Jason gently pushed his boyfriend onto his bed. "But only for you," he whispered sultrily.

Nico whimpered like a puppy as Jason started nibbling at his neck while rubbing his hands all over his abdomen. The chuckling blonde clambered over his boyfriend, sucking Nico's lips into his mouth all the way. Jason pulled away and fixated his gaze on Nico's face. The sniper gulped when he saw the ravenous look in his eyes, he looked as hungry as a wolf, hungry for Nico.

Chuckling as he heard Nico making a strangled noise, Jason tugged lightly at his earlobes with his teeth. With one hand playing with Nico’s hardened nipples, his other hand began to slowly snake down its way to his shorts.

“Jason.”

He felt Nico’s hard-on pushing hard against the soft black fabric that constrained it.

“Jason.”

His fingers hooked around Nico’s waistband and bit by bit, he dragged it downwards.

“Jason!”

Nico cupped his cheeks between his hands, bringing his face right opposite his own. “Jason. I’m sorry, I really am. I’m just not yet ready for this. I hope you understand.”

Jason said nothing as he nuzzled Nico tenderly. He wrapped his strong powerful arms around Nico and flipped their bodies over so that they laid on their side.

“I love you, Nico,” he quietly murmured.

The black-haired soldier buried his head into his boyfriend’s chest.

“I love you too, Jason.”

By the time Nico opened his eyes the next morning, Jason was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	9. Fallen King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the fuck is wrong with her?” Kane muttered with a hint of growing alarm in her voice. From the corner of his eye, Nico noticed Beauregard was reaching for her plasma rifle. Before he could even shout out a warning, Beauregard slammed the butt of her rifle into Beckendorf’s head, knocking him out cold. 
> 
> “Pixie, stand down! I repeat, stand down!” Bradford yelled through the radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 August 2015. Operation Fallen King. Delta Squad is sent to clear out the underground alien base in Siberia. Nico comes up against the most powerful alien to date.

Had he not seen the atrocities committed by the aliens on their base, Nico would probably have been in awe of the remarkable otherworldly architecture of their underground base. Now, all he had in his mind was his insatiable longing to burn the whole place to the ground. His stomach had already churned at the sight of the still living human abductees encased in surgery pods but when he found the jawbone of a human child in what was likely the aliens’ food, he felt his breakfast ready to make a reappearance. 

“This should sincerely be a reminder to us all, that even the most technologically-advanced civilisation can be most barbaric one of all.” No one attempted to rebuff Beauregard’s conclusion. Nico attempted to help Kane extricate one of the abductees from the pods, but tried as they might; the unfortunate victim was too securely encased in the pod.

“Delta Squad,” called Bradford, “advance with extreme caution. Our sensors are detecting a high energy reading in the area in front of you. The abductees will be liberated once the operation is over.”

The sniper shouldered his powerful plasma sniper rifle before heading onwards with the rest of his squad. His weapon was one of the most powerful that XCOM had ever manufactured, firing a small but incredibly powerful bolt of plasma at long-distance targets. Throughout this mission, he had been using the aliens as target practice, wiping the floor with them with ease. His promotion to Colonel was inevitable, but his mind was elsewhere.

During the few hours he had before the Skyranger took off to Siberia, Nico had been querying around the R&D department for information about the procedures that Jason was about to undergo. His efforts had been in vain, even his usual source of information; Dr. Solace was too occupied to entertain his questions. The sole piece of information he managed to wrench out of an acquaintance was that the operation was to be a fortnight affair. 

Nico genuinely felt worried for Jason. If not for the concealment of his helmet, the rest of the squad would certainly have noticed the many stress lines forming on his eyebrows. Jason had said that he was to be the first to undergo genetic modification, meaning that he was essentially a guinea pig for the R&D people, the pioneering experiment. Nico was aware that XCOM’s researchers were among the world’s best, but he could not shake off the fear that a screw-up was always on the cards. And such a screw-up could easily turn Jason into a vegetable, or worse, kill him. And even on the more optimistic side, would Jason look the same after the procedure? Would he even be the same gentle playful soul that Nico knew and loved? The same one who had brought him much pleasure the previous night simply through his soothing touch? Nico would have continued being in his pensive state had a metallic hand not landed on his shoulder.

“Fantasma, are you alright?” While his mouth remained motionless, Valdez’s eyes wore a look of friendly concern for his colleague.

“I’m alright, Hulk. Just have a lot in my mind. You okay, big guy?”

Valdez gave a giant thumbs-up. “Affirmative!”

Kane ambled by. “You’ve got quite a bit of Muton between your knuckles,” she noted.

Beauregard’s silvery voice called through the radio, “Guys, over here! There’s something you need to see!”

Beckendorf and Beauregard had taken cover behind the railing of an elevated area that overlooked a platform. In the centre of the platform was a large bud-shaped device that shot intermittent beams of red light upwards. Nico slid into position next to the duo, followed by Kane. Valdez took position a short distance away from the rest of the squad.

“Central, do you see this?”

“Copy that,” confirmed Bradford, “Dr. Vahlen suggests that that device may be a beacon of some kind, given its nature.”

“Do we capture it?” enquired the Afro-German. 

“Affirmative, Delta Squad. Pack it up and bring it home.”

It happened just for a split-second, but Nico swore that he saw something moving behind the beacon. He took a double take when a shadowy purple mist rose from behind the beacon before disappearing into Beauregard. 

Before he was even able to react, the Frenchwoman suddenly collapsed on the ground, writhing with her lovely face twisting into a painfully grotesque grimace. “Silena! What’s wrong?” cried Beckendorf, clearly alarmed. She threw her head up and let out a ear-splitting wail. “It’s in my head!” she shrieked, her eyes rolling back. 

The heavy weapons operative grabbed Silena and shook her. “What is it, sweetheart?” It began to dawn on Nico that they may have not completely cleared out the base. And whatever was in the area with them was well aware of their presence. And it was not friendly. 

His attention snapped back to Silena who had suddenly stopped thrashing about. “Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about.” The unsettling monotonic way Beauregard had said that made Nico shudder. When did she even talk like that? Alarm bells began going off in his mind as she sat upright. Her eyes had a glazed quality about them and she seemed to be staring off into the distance. What did make his skin crawl though was the extremely creepy smirk that she wore from ear to ear. 

“What the fuck is wrong with her?” Kane muttered with a hint of growing alarm in her voice. From the corner of his eye, Nico noticed Beauregard was reaching for her plasma rifle. Before he could even shout out a warning, Beauregard slammed the butt of her rifle into Beckendorf’s head, knocking him out cold. 

“Pixie, stand down! I repeat, stand down!” Bradford yelled through the radio.

Nico yelped as he narrowly dodged the plasma bolts she casually fired at him. The sinister smile she bore on her face as she shot at her comrades made the hair on his back stand on their ends.

“Hulk! For fuck’s sake, do something!” Kane hollered as she took cover behind a column.

With a swoop of his hand, the MECT lifted Beauregard into the air before disarming her of her rifle. She was still reaching for her pistol when Nico managed to pistol-whip her unconscious. He barely had the time to heave a sigh of relief before Kane suddenly collapsed onto her knees.

“Guys, I can’t see.” The Englishwoman removed her helmet, deep red blood trickling down from her nose. She looked around with a blank look in her eyes and extended her hands, as if reaching for something. Nico rushed to her side, helping her up.

“Kane, are you alright?”

“Who is Kane? Who are you? Where am I?” She spoke as though her mind were far away from her body. It seemed that her grip on reality was starting to slip. Nico laid her down gently as she starting mumbling incoherently about her brother and for some reason, Egypt.

“Fantasma! Over there! Behind the beacon!” 

Nico watched as a creature emerged from behind the shadow of the beacon. While it looked similar to a Sectoid, its larger head and reddish skin set it apart from them. Nico suddenly recalled Jason’s description of the mind-controlling alien he encountered during his mission. Everything clicked into place. This alien was of the same species or was indeed the same one that Jason had encountered.

“HQ, do you see this?”

“Affirmative!” confirmed Bradford “That’s the alien that pulled a disappearing act during our first mission in March. Capture it if possible but kill it if necessary.”

Angrily muttering about how easy it was for him to say, Nico unslinged his rifle and aimed at the alien. Immediately, it retreated behind the beacon which blocked Nico’s line of sight. This alien was clearly more intelligent than its counterparts, refusing to expose any part of its body to the sniper.

“Going in for the kill.” Valdez stormed toward the alien, lugging his powerful Particle Cannon with him. Just as he gained sight of it however, Nico saw for the first time how the alien had put Beauregard and Kane out of action. With a wave of its right hand, another purplish wisp escaped from its cranium and drifted toward the MECT. Seconds later, Valdez was a dribbling mess, wailing in panic about how they were all going to die and actually fleeing in the opposite direction. 

The alien turned its glowing red eyes toward Nico, who was sweating profusely out of terror. He fired off a shot which grazed the alien’s shoulder, but before he could reload, the alien waved its hand. A terrible fear gripped his heart as he saw a purplish wisp heading straight for him. Nico squeezed his eyes shut, readying himself to resist the mental torment that the brute intended for him. 

A flurry of indistinct blurry images raced through his head and - that was that. Nico opened his eyes and looked down to see the alien still staring at him. The aliens were not exactly very good at expressing their emotions due to their lack of body language, but Nico could see that the alien was actually perplexed by the fact that Nico was not a drooling mess yet. Nico himself was surprised about it. Deciding to give it no quarter, Nico pulled out his pistol and left a gaping hole in its head. 

“Central, site is cleared and all hostiles are down!”

Nico noticed that Beauregard and Kane were getting back on their feet, obviously dazed but definitely sane. 

“How are you still fine?”

“If only I knew.”

 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best work. Sorry. D: Anyway, Jason will return in the next chapter, and I like Jason, so stay tuned. And also, a sneak peek into the next chapter:
> 
> "This is Central! Security status Code Red! Repeat!..."
> 
> Bradford's transmission was suddenly cut off with a violent thud. 
> 
> "Wait, what?!" Kane cried as she struggled to stay on her feet. As the alarms blared and the panicking base personnel ran helter-skelter in every direction, a terrible fear gripped at Nico's heart. This could not possibly be happening, this certainly could not be within the realm of possibility, could it? 
> 
> "They are on us," he shakily whispered. "We have a breach."


	10. Glowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is Central! Security status Code Red! Repeat!..."
> 
> Bradford's transmission was suddenly cut off with a violent thud.
> 
> "Wait, what?!" Kane cried as she struggled to stay on her feet. As the alarms blared and the panicking base personnel ran helter-skelter in every direction, a terrible fear gripped at Nico's heart. This could not possibly be happening; this certainly could not be within the realm of possibility, could it?
> 
> "They are on us," he shakily whispered. "We have a breach."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27 August 2015. Two weeks have passed since the destruction of the alien base. With no reports of alien activity across the globe, XCOM seems to have accomplished its duties.

Nico’s dark brown eyes cautiously darted back and forth between the eyes of his squad mates as they all sat in silence. Valdez had a mischievous, cunning look in his eyes that said he had something up his mechanical sleeve. Kane was somewhat engrossed in her book, only occasionally looking up to eye everyone with suspicion before resuming her reading. Beauregard and Beckendorf on the other hand were too busy giving each other googly eyes to notice a thing.

Taking a deep breath, Nico could not help smiling as he finally announced his intentions. “I’m attacking Central America from Venezuela.” Kane threw up her arms in annoyance as Valdez politely applauded. As Nico took up his dice and Kane hers, Valdez could not resist commenting, “Di Angelo, do state your reasons for showing an interest in taking over my homeland.”

Nico attempted to protest that it was nothing personal, but Kane interjected first. “Oh, for crying out loud, Valdez! Firstly, Mexico isn’t even part of Central America. Admittedly, it is so on this map, but this is a Risk map for God’s sake, not the Times Atlas! Secondly, you don’t own Central America, I do! And thirdly, you own all of fucking Russia!” “I do not have possession of Irkutsk,” Valdez corrected. “Oh, you get the point!” she blurted impatiently.

The players watched closely as Nico and Kane rolled their dice. The guys cheered as Nico got a good roll and Kane began removing her yellow pieces from the board. The second roll was also in his favour and it took one more roll for him to begin moving his black pieces into Central American territory.

It had been two weeks since the alien base had been cleared out and it actually seemed that the alien invasion had been thwarted, for no reports of alien activity had come in since then. Some governments were actually contemplating lifting their states of emergency for people were starting to wonder whether the aliens had really been defeated. Even in the barracks of XCOM, rumours were abound that if another month passed without any sign of the alien menace, preparations might begin for the disbandment and dissolution of the XCOM project.

As soon as Nico had ended his turn, passing it to Beckendorf, Beauregard decided to ask him about Jason. “So,” she started, “When’s Jason coming back to join us?” “Well, he was supposed to be gone for two weeks, so he’s actually scheduled to be back with us by today.” Nico was rather skilled at concealing his feelings, for while he appeared his usual quiet self to his squad mates, in reality, there were entire swarms of butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. Two weeks had passed without Jason, two weeks two long and Nico was anxious to see his boyfriend again. It may have been silly, given the fact that Jason was probably laying on an operating table one level below him, but Nico did miss the piss-poor jokes that Jason often cracked and the occasional sweet gesture that Jason liked to surprise him with. Perhaps it was true that distance makes the heart fonder.

Beckendorf rolled his dice and groaned as he and Valdez took a loss each. He paused to look at Nico. “So, did you get him a welcome back gift of some kind?” Nico scratched the back of his neck as he looked away.

The game halted to a pause as Delta Squad waited for their sniper’s response. Nico seemed to be taking forever to answer such a simple question. Beauregard repeated gently, “Well, did you?”

Nico sighed. “I wasn’t sure whether I should buy anything,” he answered, “Every time I think of something, I end up writing it off as too cheesy or too impractical. So, no, I actually haven’t bought him anything yet, not that I don’t want to, but I’ve no idea what to get for him.”

Everyone except for the face-palming Kane let out a collective ‘aww’. “Seriously?” she snorted, “Here at this table, we have two people who come from ‘romantic’ cultures. Miss Frenchie over there and this Latin lover over here.” She poked at Valdez’s metal shoulder. “And you didn’t have the mind to ask either of them or even Beckendorf or I for romantic advice? I’m ashamed of you!” she jibed.

Nico could not help stifling a laugh. His squad members could sometimes behave like the insane aunties and cool uncles that he never had. He had not been expecting to be on the edge of the romantic hot seat that afternoon. “Well,” Nico began, “What do you guys suggest?”

Beauregard raised her hand, like a student in the classroom. “Everyone loves chocolates. It’s a love food and it’s delicious. Am I not right, mon chou?” She nudged Beckendorf who was glancing at his Risk cards.

He nodded in agreement, before adding, “I don’t know about you and him, but I’m generally more of a...practical person. I’m fine with more sentimental gifts, but I’d prefer receiving a new toolbox or some high-tech gizmos. Have you considered getting him a portable hard disk? I always appreciate those.”

Nico shook his head. “I did actually consider ordering an Oculus Rift, at one point, but they are not yet in mass production.”

“No,” Valdez broke in, “Do not buy that dysfunctional work of garbage. My cousin Alejandro once lent me his and I spent the rest of the evening vomiting my guts out.” He looked down at his cybersuit-encased torso. “At least, I still had guts back then. Anyway, a good meal is always an option. Go order a pizza or something. You could ask the canteen workers to cook you guys something.”

“Alright, Robocop, it’s my turn to talk,” Kane interrupted, “I’m not much of a romantic. I did have a boyfriend back in Manchester but that lying son of a bitch was cheating on me, so I just literally kicked him onto the kerb. I think it’s just best for you to buy something that he’d be interested in. Does he like books like I do? Get him a book of the genre he loves. Is he a gamer? Go splurge on some new triple-A games. Maybe he does like chocolates, so get him a box!”

Beauregard began her turn by placing her blue pieces on her territories. Nico thought about his colleagues’ suggestions for a bit before realising what might be the suitable gift. “Jason does do quite a bit of scrapbooking, taking photos of the places he goes to, including our mission sites. I could get him a good camera for his photography.”

“Ah, good for you,” congratulated Kane, “But we are currently under a wheat field in North Dakota near the city of Balta, population 65.” She took a double take at her phone. “I’m not entirely sure that you can find a good camera shop there.”

“Actually, I’m quite sure I saw one the last time I visited,” Beauregard remembered.

“What were you doing up there?”

“I required some...serviette hygiénique. The ones they provide us with down here do not meet my standards.”

The lights suddenly started flickering. “Now, what?” Beckendorf muttered, “Not another power outage!” Nico’s attention immediately snapped back to the Risk board which started shaking violently with its pieces and dice. Everyone got up before struggling to stay on their feet as the ground began trembling slightly beneath them. “Is this an earthquake?” Beauregard asked in alarm. The answer was made clear as thunderous explosions rocked the entire base, throwing Valdez off his feet. The alarms that had had been idling for two weeks began blaring again once more.

"This is Central! Security status Code Red! Repeat!..."

Bradford's transmission was suddenly cut off with a violent thud.

"Wait, what?!" Kane cried as she struggled to stay on her feet. As the alarms blared and the panicking base personnel ran helter-skelter in every direction, a terrible fear gripped at Nico's heart. This could not possibly be happening; this certainly could not be within the realm of possibility, could it?

"They are on us," he shakily whispered. "We have a breach."

The room took on a blood red hue as the emergency lights turned on. Nico grabbed hold of the table as another explosion shook the base. A bloodied base security guard rushed into the room, assault rifle at the ready. “The aliens are on the base!” he cried, “Everyone to arms! All hands on deck!”

“I’m useless without my MEC.” “I can help,” Kane pulled her plasma rifle out. “I will help Valdez reach the MEC Bay. They will need him to hold the line.” After wishing them luck, Valdez and Kane dashed out of the room. Nico silently cursed himself for having turned in his weapons to the armoury for maintenance purposes. “My gun’s in my quarters, I’ll have to retrieve it before joining them,” Beckendorf said. “I’ll join you. Nico, you coming?” Beauregard turned to see that Nico was already racing toward the door. “I need to find Jason. He won’t be able to defend himself.” “Wait!” She unholstered her plasma pistol and tossed it to Nico. “Go! Stay safe!” With a nod of thanks, Nico turned to find his beloved.

Thick clouds of acrid smoke filled the Main Laboratory, choking Nico as he struggled his way through the slightly ajar blast doors. The fire alarms were working overtime, with the sprinklers showering the place in response to the small flames that had broken out. Jason had once called the Main Lab a ‘neat freak haven’.  Now, the once spick and span laboratory was a scene of pandemonium, with soaked papers strewn everywhere, equipment smashed and glass shards scattered all over the place. Nico stumbled through the laboratory, wincing as he had to step over the bodies of staff members; some who were still breathing, and others who were not.

A researcher, her face covered with dust and ash, shambled toward Nico. In the nick of time, he stopped her from falling face down onto the floor and helped her to a chair. “What happened here?”  he asked softly. She shook her head, wiping her face with a handkerchief. “One second, I’m doing my stuff, next second I’m face down on the ground, with equipment exploding around me. Some of our colleagues actually attacked us, like they were possessed. Glazed eyes and all.” The mention of glazed eyes reminded Nico of the time that Beauregard had been mind-controlled by the alien dubbed the Sectoid Commander during Operation Fallen King. He realised that something similar must be at play in this instance.

A door forcefully flung open, causing Nico to whip out his pistol. He took a step back as a heavyset lab assistant crashed out of the doorway, a leaner man holding him in a chokehold. Nico immediately noted the glassy look of the stouter man’s eyes, and also recognised the leaner man’s tanned face. “Dr. Solace?” The doctor waved as the lab assistant thrashed about like a bull, attempting to throw him off. “Sup, di Angelo? I would really love to talk but I kind of need a hand right now!”  

One uppercut later, Dr. Solace was leaning against the wall, panting like a dog as he joked about joining a rodeo after the war. “Should really have paid attention during the self-defence talks. Could have saved me quite a few bruises,” he admitted.

“I need to get to Jason. Where is he now?” Nico impatiently demanded. Every passing minute was exposing Jason to possible danger. Time was not a luxury for now. It did not help that he could hear screams coming down the hallways and the unmistakeable sound of plasma fire from upstairs. His ears pricked as he heard the faint familiar roar of a Chrysallid.

“He should be in the Genetics Lab, two levels below us. You’ll probably need my access card to get in.” The doctor unclipped his card from his coat and handed it over to Nico. The sniper offered a brief thanks before turning to the access lift. “You’ll probably need to find another way,” Solace informed, “They took out the lift, so you’ll need another way down.” “Do you’ve any cable then? I could make my way down that way.” The doctor’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got something better.”

“It’s an experimental armour, Titan Armour plus jetpacks. We planned on calling it the Archangel Armour.” Nico examined the chrome plating of the light but relatively cumbersome body armour. Sure, there were aliens running amok in the base, but it was still pretty cool for him to be the first soldier and possibly the first human being to use a jetpack. “It has very limited fuel, so expect a one-way journey at most. And also,” Solace rummaged through a weapons footlocker, “You might want to give Jason this.” In the doctor’s hands was a rectangular metal gun, which glowed a warm orange. “The Alloy Cannon, one of XCOM’s deadliest weapons. Take it as an overpowered shotgun. It actually shredded the armour of a M1 Abrams Tank. Once again, only limited ammo, so use only when necessary.” He handed it over to Nico before joking, “I feel like that old man from the Legend of Zelda. ‘It’s dangerous to go alone. Here, take this.’” “Thanks for everything, Solace.” The researcher gave Nico a friendly pat on the back. “It’s nothing! Now, go rescue your prince from his castle!”

Nico looked down into the deep abyss that was the elevator shaft. The crumpled metal wreck of the lift laid burning at its bottom, spewing out thick black smoke. His stomach made a double flip as he saw how high up he was from the bottom. He was never a fan of heights. It always felt more natural for him to have his own two feet tethered securely to solid ground. Taking a deep breath, Nico took a step forward into open air and let gravity do its job.

As he began plummeting downwards into the fiery void, he bashed the buttons that Solace had told him activated the armour’s propulsion system. He had to bite his tongue to stifle a scream as the jetpacks behind him stayed quiet. He plunged past the first level; failing to reach the second level in time would spell the end for him. Nico gritted his teeth as he whacked at the buttons repeatedly. “Come on, come on!” The tongues of fire leapt upward, taunting their potential victim. “Please, God, a little help now!” The second level was coming closer and closer. With one final desperate roar, Nico slammed his fists onto the buttons. His fall suddenly jerked to a halt as the propulsors on his back and calves roared into action, letting Nico hover harmlessly in mid-air. Giving a silent prayer of thanks, Nico managed to fly toward the lift doors that led into the Genetics Lab. They were tightly shut but Nico was in no mood to be halted by mere doors. Thrusting his fingers into the space between the metal doors, Nico pushed the right door as hard as he could. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as the door finally began to give way and Nico was finally able to slip into the laboratory and lay his eyes on Jason.

“Jason.” Immersed in a cylindrical glass tank filled with a viscous orange fluid, Jason’s eyes remained closed as he floated in the liquid. He was wearing a sleeveless synthetic vest with long flexible tubes attached to socket-like components on his upper arm, shoulder and upper back. Nico noticed the control panel next to the tank and swiped Solace’s access card as he had told him to. Immediately, the tank began draining itself of liquid and a pair of metal arms moved it onto a platform. Stepping in front of the tank, Nico watched as another arm lifted the tank upwards, leaving Jason to lurch forward to be caught by him. He immediately pulled out the tubes out from the small metal sockets that were embedded in Jason’s skin.

“Jason,” Nico quietly whispered as he knelt on the ground, pressing his forehead against Jason’s. His lightning blue eyes fluttered open and locked onto Nico’s dark chocolate eyes. “Nico,” he responded. Their trembling lips met in a passionate communion. The warmth of Jason’s wet lips set off a spark that ran an entire circuit through Nico. The two lovers wrapped their arms tighter around each other, with Nico getting lost in his beloved’s hot breath and tender lips. Nico broke the kiss to rest his head on Jason’s shoulder. “I missed you,” he mumbled into Jason’s skin. Jason gently combed his fingers through Nico’s inky black locks of hair. “I know.”

Placing his hands on both of Jason’s shoulders, Nico examined Jason’s body from top to bottom. “You look human,” he noted. “I guess that’s a good thing, right?” Jason turned his head to look at the socket embedded in his right shoulder before tapping on it. “Except for these...things. But at least, I’m not green!” Nico laughed at Jason’s words. “I guess so,” he admitted.

He helped his boyfriend to his feet. “Come on, we need to help the others. The base is under attack by the aliens.” Jason remained speechless as Nico filled him on what was going on. “We really need to get back up there! And also, this is yours.” The assault trooper took hold of and brandished the Alloy Cannon, gawking at its exceptional design. With a single deafening cock, he grabbed Nico’s hand. “Let’s roll.” “You’re being overdramatic,” Nico teased but he went along with him.

The two stood at the edge of the precipice, where the fire at the bottom of the lift shaft had died down to a red glow. “Damn it. I think it’s out of fuel.” Bashing once more on his armour’s buttons, Nico let out a growl of frustration as he started considering whether they could climb their way up on the many cables that hung before them. “Hang on,” Jason said, “I might have an idea.” He turned his back toward Nico. “Hang on tight to my back.” Nico lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll explain later. Trust me.” Nico wrapped his arms firmly around the crouching Jason, letting him give him a piggyback ride. “You ready?” “Yes, but I don’t see what you could possibly...eek!”

Nico held his breath as Jason effortlessly leapt from one level to the next and in a record of thirty seconds, they were in the Main Lab. “Holy shit, what was that?! You were fucking flying!” Nico cried as he dismounted off Jason. “Just jumping, I can’t actually fly,” Jason corrected, “More of Super Mario than Superman. They strengthened my legs’ muscle fibres and bone tissues, so I can more or less jump around like a Thin Man.” For a brief moment, Nico was actually excited that his boyfriend was an actual superhuman a la X-Men. “What else can you do?” Jason frowned. “I can shoot lasers from my eyes.” “Really?” Nico’s eyes widened, somewhat expecting Jason to fry something with beams from his eyes. “No,” Jason laughed, “but I do have other things, just not the time to talk about them.”

Jason’s eyes suddenly darted toward a door several feet away. “Someone’s coming.” He aimed his gun at the door while Nico unholstered his pistol. “How do you know?” “My skin just...buzzes.” The door slammed open. Dr. Vahlen and Dr. Solace yelped when they found themselves at the end of Jason’s glowing gun muzzle. “Point that thing elsewhere,” the Germanic lady sharply scolded, “Do you even know how dangerous this weapon of war is, Colonel Grace? In any case, how are your genetic modifications holding?” “Pretty good, Doc. That static field around me is quite annoying though.” “The Bioelectric Skin modification is supposed to work that way, giving you a heads up on the location of potential enemies. You might want to report to Bradford upstairs. He’s coordinating a resistance in the Mission Control. Now, if you may excuse me, Dr. Solace and I need to regroup with our team.”

“Come on!” Jason grabbed Nico’s hand and they scurried up the stairway that lead to the Mission Control room. Bradford was already there, nursing a head wound as he barked out orders and distributed arms and armour to the operatives present. “Di Angelo! Grace! Get your weapons and gear and join the fight! We’ve cleared out most of Delta Section, but the aliens are not letting up at the Forward Access Tunnel.” They braced as the base shook under another explosion. “The auxiliary power banks are almost charged. Once the blast doors open, you’ll only have seconds to get in.” Nico spotted his plasma sniper rifle in the pile of weapons in the corner of the room and retrieved it while Jason donned a set of Titan Armour and holstered his pistol. “Stay behind me. Things could get serious.” Nico rolled his eyes. “Jason, I’ve scored 47 kills while you were away. I can take care of myself. I’m going in with you, whether you like it or not.” Jason jokingly yelped as Nico then punched his shoulder lightly. The doors slid open and the two charged onto the battlefield.

Hell in all its horror had manifested in Delta Section as twisted chunks of metal fell from the ceiling and fires raged across the place. Bolts of plasma and beams of laser lit up the air. Bodies littered the ground, most alien, others human. A female Base Security Personnel laid some feet away from Nico dead. Her wide open eyes gaped lifelessly at him as blood dripped from the exposed cavity that had been her chest. Nico had to look away as he saw several other soldiers in the distance; among them Beauregard and Beckendorf, rush forward to close the gap between them and the aliens.

“Where the fuck have you two been?! We are getting chewed up out here!” Kane discharged her rifle from behind a gun locker. Next to her was Valdez, who had evidently reached his MEC. His armour had also unmistakably taken much damage, with multiple punctures and burns blotching its plating. “Sorry, we’re late! What’s up?” Valdez fired devastating blasts of particle beams at the enemy before flinching when another plasma bolt slammed into his armour. “I require assistance!” “You could help us take out that...thing! It’s taking us out left and right!” “What thing?” As if in response to Jason’s question, the battlefield suddenly took on an uneasy deathly quiet. All that could be heard was an ominous humming that grew louder and louder by the second. “Incoming!” somebody shrieked. A massive red beam lit up the entire area, before incinerating a sniper that had been in its path.

“Holy fuck!” Jason and Nico looked over the railing to see where the beam had originated. The colossal bipedal war machine’s chest cannon was still smoking as it pounded forward. It was a relatively simple design, a grasshopper-like head supported by its two feet. Nico could guess from sight alone that its armour was not the sort that even his rifle could penetrate easily. The robot staggered when a barrage of plasma slammed into its armoured head, but in a surprising display of nimbleness, it actually dodged several more shots at it.

Nico felt a tap on his shoulder. “Cover me. I’m going in.” The sniper took aim with his rifle as Jason leapt over the railing and began sprinting towards the beast. A surge of fear swept over Nico as a plasma cannon suddenly emerged from above the machine, taking aim at Jason before firing. The green flash blinded him as chills travelled down his spine when he lost sight of Jason. Fortunately, Jason’s lightning reflexes were still well-honed as he dodged the explosion with ease. Throwing himself behind the cover of a pillar, the assault trooper pulled out his Alloy Cannon. “Nico!” he called “Get ready!” He then stepped out of his cover and let off two ear-splitting rounds at the colossus.

Solace had told the truth, the Alloy Cannon was indeed incredibly powerful. The robot lurched as its shots ripped holes in its previously impenetrable hull, exposing its still charging cannon. A volley of shots from the rest of the operatives finally brought the leviathan down, causing a minor explosion as the head broke off from its legs and detonated.

Cheers rang through the air as the surviving operatives threw their arms up in celebratory relief. The defeat of the titan seemed to invigorate the fatigued soldiers. Kane clambered onto Valdez’s armour, waving a sword that she had procured from somewhere. “Cut them down! All of them!” Nico split open a Muton’s skull with a single shot from his rifle as his comrades began advancing. The battle had clearly been decided. Some of the more intelligent aliens saw the signs and retreated down the tunnel while the more mindless ones were eviscerated by overwhelming firepower.    

“Jason?” Nico noticed that Jason had suddenly collapsed limply onto the ground. “Jason!” His throat burned and it became hard for him to breathe as he raced toward his boyfriend’s lifeless body. “Jason,” he croaked. His voice broke as he cradled Jason’s head in his arms. Not a breath escaped from him, not a muscle twitched. A tear meandered around Nico’s cheekbone, pushing along the ridgeline down his chin, tapering off as it dropped onto the concrete floor and spread itself onto the sheet of dust. “Jason, wake up!” he sobbed. “Please!” Jason stayed silent. His head hung in despair as he realised that just like his mother and his sister, cruel fate had once more taken another blow at him, this time, taking his beloved with him. Everyone fell silent as a wrenched cry of tormented anguish and despair escaped from Nico’s chest. He pressed his forehead against his and wept.

Hearing a scampering of feet, Nico looked up. There, in a dark secluded area behind a pile of ammunition boxes was the recognisable figure of a Sectoid Commander, the same species of creature that had wreaked havoc on Delta Squad previously. Its red eyes seemed to mock Nico over Jason’s death. Nico’s fists balled up in rage, pure rage that boiled up from the deepest parts of a man’s soul. He was beyond anger; he had gone far off the end of the scale. His body shook uncontrollably as he glared at the alien with fiery eyes. He had already lost so much; he would not let anyone else, human or not, take anything more from him ever again. Squeezing his eyes closed, Nico channelled all his fury into one single scream. It was the kind of scream that could make Berserkers turn and run. It cut straight to the brain and awoke some primal power. Everything went black.

“Is he...dead?”

“No, he still has a pulse.”

“Demanding explanation of events!”

“I don’t know! One second, he’s wailing, next second, he’s screaming, third second, he’s knocked out! The Sectoid Commander just exploded like a watermelon.”

“I saw that too. Perhaps we should contact Dr. Vahlen. She could attend to Jason.”

Nico’s eyes flickered open.

“He lives!” Beckendorf, Beauregard, Kane and Valdez were gathered around Nico, watching him with great interest.

The sniper sat up. Everything was fuzzy around him, though it was clear that he was still where he had been last. “Where’s Jason?” No one responded.

He got up and pushed them aside before collapsing next to Jason, whose motionless body had been caked with a thin layer of dust. Nico buried his head in his cold breast and wept bitterly.

“Why are you crying?! He’s not dead!” Dr. Vahlen strided toward the group, her tablet tucked under her arm. “It’s just his Neural Damping, a defensive mechanism we put in to break any instance of mind-control on him. He’s just unconscious! Look!”

Nico flinched as he felt a warm hand running through his hair. “Nico? Why are you crying on me?” Jason looked extremely baffled as to why everyone was surrounding him and why his boyfriend was crying into his armour. He yelped as Nico suddenly punched him in the shoulder. “What was that for?!” Nico wrapped his arms tightly around him. “You are an asshole,” he hummed. “What did I do?!” Jason did however return the hug before scanning Nico’s face.

“Nico, your eyes...”

“What?” Nico noticed that some of his colleagues were backing away from him.

“They’re...glowing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	11. Never Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason’s eyes widened as Nico all of a sudden balled his fists and furrowed his eyebrows. His dark brown eyes darkened with an unexpected fury as his face contorted into a hateful scowl. “You know what? Fuck you! I’m tired of people saying I’ve got to do this, got to do that. I don’t care if I’m special or shit. Everything you said, fuck it. I’m going back. This is a waste of time. Fuck you!”
> 
> “Nico, wait!” Jason tried to call him to stop but Nico had disappeared away from the edge. He stared into the air in shock. What had caused Nico to suddenly snap so badly like that? He wondered whether it was something he said. In any case, he felt that he ought to find out what was going on or at the very least, apologise for any wrong he might have done. As he made his way to the shore, he perked up his ears when he heard the sound of leaves crackling under running feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11 September 2015. Jason hasn't seen Nico for quite some time. He knows he has been dealing with his own inner demons for the past few weeks, so he goes looking for him.

“Hey.”

Nico did not bother responding to Jason’s call, not even turning his head to look at him. His back was to the wall as he sat gloomily observing the massive turbines of the thermo generator spinning rapidly. The generator’s dim orange light illuminated the chamber, allowing Nico to conceal himself in the more shadowy corners of the room. Jason let out a sad sigh as he walked over to his boyfriend’s side and sat down next to him.

“We missed you at lunch.” His attempt to elicit a reply from Nico fell flat as he responded with a stony silence. Jason knew that something was playing around in Nico’s head, but tried as he might, he was still unable to get anything out of him. He had not been his usual self the past two weeks. Sure, he was normally quiet, but he had been more reservedly quiet than usual. When he was troubled, Nico could be a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Initially flinching, Nico relaxed a little when he felt Jason’s long fingers slipping between his own. As Jason had thought, Nico did indeed have all sorts of terrible thoughts tormenting him in his head. Ever since the incident over two weeks ago, Nico had been rather agitated over a whole lot of things. Perhaps, he thought, it would be healthy to actually let some of his thoughts out.

“I’m neither blind nor deaf, Jason.”

“I know you are not,” Jason confirmed.

“I can see that people are scared of me. I can hear the things they whisper about me.” Jason noticed that Nico’s hands were trembling as he spoke.

“You shouldn’t care what...”

“But I do!” Nico angrily interrupted, “I care! Why shouldn’t I? They do have an actual reason to be afraid, you know? I’m not even sure what I am right now!”

“We have already talked to Dr. Vahlen about this. She has already confirmed that you are 100% human,” Jason calmly reminded him.

“Then, explain what happened that day! Explain why Dr. Vahlen is building an entire lab facility dedicated to studying me! Explain why...what’s wrong with me.” Nico held up his shaking hands in front of him, as though he was checking that they were still human.

“There’s nothing wrong...”

Nico cut him off mid-sentence with a shake of his head. “Normal people don’t glow, Jason. I did. I’m not even sure what I am right now. I don’t know what I am! Am I even really human?”

He paused as held his head in his hands, swallowing a lump back down his throat. “I’ve never felt so afraid of myself before.”

Jason made no rebuttal. The chamber was quiet except for the gentle hum of the generator and the heavy breathing of Nico. Nico expected his boyfriend to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. However, he did take hold of Nico’s hand.

“If you are going to go Man of Steel on me, ‘People are afraid of what they don't understand’, save it. I’m not in the mood for it.”

“Actually,” said Jason as he got up to his feet, “I wasn’t. I was just going to ask whether you’d like to go above ground with me. You have been stuck down here for quite some weeks.”

Nico realised with a shudder that he had nearly forgotten what the yellow beaming sun looked like. Time really passed by quickly when he was underground. It also did not help that his mind had been wandering elsewhere for the past few days.

Jason walked briskly through the corridors and hallways of the base with Nico in toll. He was well aware of the uncomfortable stares and obvious whispers made by the base personnel when they saw that Nico was with him. Ignoring all of them, the two made their way out of the base and above ground.

XCOM’s Headquarters were well concealed under square miles and square miles of wheat fields. Its entrance opened up into an inconspicuous barnyard, which also served as a lookout point for the odd conspiracy theorist, on the hunt for the elusive Skyranger. Ever since the aliens assaulted the base, more vans of tin foil hat wearers had been appearing in the area, only to be chased away by a half-naked shotgun-toting redneck Bradford. On this cloudy day, however, they were thankfully nowhere to be seen.

The two sat down on a bench outside the barnyard, facing the east so that the sun would not get into their eyes. The wheat had recently been harvested to keep up the pretence that this farm was unremarkably normal with no aliens or paramilitary groups whatsoever. A pair of horses owned by XCOM to keep up the charade grazed nearby, cheerfully nibbling away at a hay pile. They somehow managed to survive the alien attack.

A cool autumn wind blew into Nico’s face. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air that he had not inhaled for some weeks. Immediately, his tensed up muscles began relaxing and the many voices in his head seemed to be relegated to only a small portion of his mind. He leaned back against the wall of the barn, as did Jason.

“What’s the date today?”

Jason looked at Nico before suddenly finding an interest in his feet. “September the eleventh.”

Not a word was exchanged between the two. Nico felt a twinge of guilt in his heart for nearly forgetting the significance of the date. He had been so caught up in his own troubles that he had seemed to overlook this date that was the anniversary of one of his country’s darkest days; a day of extreme cruelty, but also of amazing heroism.

“Did you lose anyone?”

Nico shook his head.

“Me neither.”

Jason leaned forward, crossing his fingers as his eyes were set on the distant horizon. “Look,” he began. “I don’t have the answers to all your questions. I may never have them. But I’ll tell you what I know. You are special. You said it yourself. You are not normal. That’s because you are special. You’ve done things that many people have never done and will probably never do. So what if you actually have weird powers? What is important though is that you do not change yourself to meet other people’s expectations. The most important thing that you can ever do for yourself is to be just that, yourself. With or without powers, you will still be special. Maybe to others, you are not normal, but to me, you’re special.”

He placed his hands on either side of Nico’s face before sweeping aside the long black locks of hair from his forehead and kissing it. “Please don’t forget that,” he softly murmured.

As he once again slipped his fingers into Nico’s, he was taken by surprise when he felt Nico throwing his arms around him and drawing his face close to his. “I won’t.” Nico rubbed his thumb against his boyfriend’s jaw before kissing him long and soft; his troubles evaporating away into thin air every second his lips were brushing against Jason’s rich and warm lips. He ravished those delectable lips as Jason pressed his chest against his, their hearts beating in synchrony and their breathing a harmonious dance in and out of their chests.

They would have continued their embrace for an indefinite amount of time if not for a wet horse muzzle suddenly appearing between them. “Damn it, George! Can’t you go play around with Martha instead?” Jason grumbled as Nico immediately broke the kiss to look the intruding chestnut horse in the eye.

“You named them George and Martha?” Nico raised his eyebrow at what he felt were his boyfriend’s odd naming conventions.

Jason shrugged as he poured a sachet of sugar, evidently procured from the cafeteria, into his hands before giving the horse a sweet treat. “I named them after the Washingtons. Cut me some slack. I’m not creative with names, okay?”

“No, no, it’s kinda cool.”

Martha trotted up to join her stablemate, nudging at Jason for more sugar treats. Nico cautiously rubbed his hands over the mare’s silky inky black coat. He could not help smiling when he saw Jason feeding the two animals like Snow White, but male and muscle-bound. All he had to do was start singing and he could join the Disney princess pantheon.

“Hold them for a bit. I have an idea.” Nico suddenly found his hands filled with sugar sachets as Jason got up and disappeared around the corner. He found himself face-to-face with the two horses, both wondering whether the puny human would give them more sugar. Taking a leaf out of Jason’s book, he tore open several sachets of sugar, poured them into both hands and fed the two horses with one each.

Jason reappeared with a pair of bridles. Immediately, Nico knew from his playful eyes alone that he had something up his sleeve. He was proven correct as he calmly walked up to George’s side before fitting a bridle on him.

“Jason, what are you doing?”

Nico watched as Jason fit the remaining bridle on Martha. “I’m going for a ride; and you’re coming with me.”

Immediately, Nico crossed his arms into an ‘X’ as he said, “Nope. No way. Forget it.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I’m not an animal person.”

“You were petting the horse just now!” Jason reminded.

“Petting does not equal riding, Jason.”

“Did you ever have a pet?”

“An old mastiff, Mrs. O’Leary.” Nico was rather mournful as he remembered the old hound.

Jason burst out in laughter at the dog’s very Irish name. “Nice name. I’ll help you. It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

Despite his own fears, Nico decided to put his faith onto his boyfriend. He had kept most of his promises after all. Jason held Martha steady as Nico struggled hard to get onto the mare. The fact that her coat was silky meant that it was incredibly difficult for him to maintain his grip on her, even more so when trying to keep his balance on her. He finally managed to do so after Jason held his leg steady, though he still felt that he could fall off the horse any second.

“Umm... I’m not sure whether I can...Shit, I’m going to fall.” In panic, he grabbed the horse’s neck to balance himself. If horses could give death glares, Martha would have given one to the bundle of nerves on her back.

“No, you are not,” Jason calmly assured him as he mounted George without breaking a sweat.

“I’m imbalanced.”

“You’re not.”

“Oh, God! Just let me down!” Nico begged. He gasped in fright when he looked down and realised that he was rather high above the ground.

Jason took hold of Martha’s reins with his free hand. “Nico, you’re already on the horse. Don’t panic. I’ll ride beside you. See? Now, keep your back straight, grip the horse between your thighs,” he firmly instructed.

Nico took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and let his thumping heart settle down. He slowly and carefully sat up straight before strengthening his legs’ grip on the horse. Immediately, he felt slightly more self-assured about not falling off. “Did you have a horse or something?” he asked Jason.

“Nope, but Mordanger did have a stable. Now, eyes on me. Don’t look down, eyes on me. We won’t be galloping, just trotting, so no need to get scared. Eyes on me? Let’s go.”

Nico’s heart almost leapt into his mouth when his ride began to move but after a little while, he got used to it. He had been on a boat before, and this felt somewhat similar, though it did help that Jason was beside him, giving him words of encouragement as they rode across the fields. The day was a good day for a ride for the glaring sun was obstructed by the many fluffy clouds that blanketed the sky. The wind also came in gusts of refreshing breezes. Even though he had not planned this, Jason seemed rather well-prepared for their short trip with a few granola bars and a canteen of water. Eventually, he gave back control of the reins to Nico who had finally overcome his initial fears and was actually getting the hang of it, except for the time when he accidentally kicked the horse into a canter. Other than that, Jason felt that he was not too bad for a beginner.

They continued riding through a forest before coming to a stop at the edge of a precipice that overlooked a lake. Nico took his time to admire the breathtaking view. The forest stretched for countless miles and after that, was endless fields of golden wheat. The unpolluted crystal blue water was also a nice touch; along with the ducks that rested by the shore.

“Can you dismount by yourself?” Jason asked.

Pulling Martha to a complete stop, Nico swung his right leg slowly over her back before sliding down to the ground, landing on his own two feet.

“You are getting the hang of this, Neeks!” Jason cheerfully praised as he pumped his fist into the air. He then dismounted his own horse. “Now, help me out and tie George and Martha to that tree over there. The one that looks like a fork.”

Nico took hold of both the horses’ reins and led them toward the tree before tying them to it loosely but securely. “Is this okay, Jason?” he called.

He turned around toward the precipice where he last saw Jason but there was no one there. “Jason?” Nico looked down into the water to see if he had jumped into the water without him knowing, but the water remained calm and undisturbed. “Jason?” Alarm was starting to build in him as he wondered where his boyfriend had gone. He could not have possibly gone that far in such a short span of time. Then, he noticed a familiar bundle of clothes resting at the bottom of a sturdy bur oak.

“Vigilo Confido!” Jason howled XCOM’s Latin motto as he threw himself from the treetop before plunging past Nico and diving head-on into the water. Nico peered over the precipice to see whether he was alright, which he definitely was. Waving at Nico, Jason shouted up, “What are you waiting for, Neeks? Come on in!”

“I...don’t really feel like it.”

“Oh, come on! Where’s your sense of fun?”

Jason’s eyes widened as Nico all of a sudden balled his fists and furrowed his eyebrows. His dark brown eyes darkened with an unexpected fury as his face contorted into a hateful scowl. “You know what? Fuck you! I’m tired of people saying I’ve got to do this, got to do that. I don’t care if I’m special or shit. Everything you said, fuck it. I’m going back. This is a waste of time. Fuck you!”

“Nico, wait!” Jason tried to call him to stop but Nico had disappeared away from the edge. He stared into the air in shock. What had caused Nico to suddenly snap so badly like that? He wondered whether it was something he said. In any case, he felt that he ought to find out what was going on or at the very least, apologise for any wrong he might have done. As he made his way to the shore, he perked up his ears when he heard the sound of leaves crackling under running feet.

“Oorah!” Jason raised his arms as Nico leapt off the precipice and landed into the lake with a mighty splash. The resulting wave slammed into Jason, causing him to spit out lake water before he heard Nico having a hearty laugh. He found him swimming leisurely next to him, grinning from ear to ear.

“Got you worried there with my angry fake-out, didn’t I?”

Jason splashed a wave of water at him in mock annoyance. “God damn you, Nico! I felt my heart breaking into tiny pieces. I was wondering what the fuck had I said wrong!”

Nico swam up to him, close enough that he could gaze into his playful eyes. “Sorry about that,” he apologised. “Was it Broadway worthy?”

“Definitely! Five out of five! The next must-see! The new Lewis Black!” Jason took hold of Nico’s arm and pulled him closer. He tenderly pushed his face against Nico’s so that he was eye to eye with him. Anticipating another kiss, he drew his lips toward his boyfriend’s. Then, he felt his nose being poked.

“You are it,” Nico softly whispered into his ear before making his escape from Jason.

Rubbing his hands together like a comic villain, Jason hollered after him, “Oh, swim, boy! This hungry shark is after you!”

Nico laughed as he raced ahead of Jason, swimming toward the deeper centre of the lake. He might have continued swimming to the end of the lake had he not realised that he could not hear the sounds of pursuit. Turning around, he found that the water was calm and pristine, too calm and pristine in fact. Guessing that Jason may be swimming underwater to avoid detection, Nico submerged himself, but he did not spot his boyfriend there either. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of lightning blue eyes was focusing on him from the depths below.

After a while, he started wondering if Jason had indeed given him the slip by escaping onto land when he noticed a stream of bubbles rising from below him. Nico screamed when he suddenly shot up into the air in Jason’s arms before crashing back into the water in a gigantic splash that stirred up the entire lake.

“Not fair,” he coughed indignantly. “Gene-mods are cheating!” Nico could not help staring at Jason’s orange breath, no doubt the result of his Adrenal Neurosympathy modification, an adaptation that allowed him to release a contagious adrenaline cloud. Already, he was feeling rather buzzed with blood pumping rapidly through his veins.

“It doesn’t say so in the rulebook,” Jason said in a matter-of-fact way.

“We don’t have a rulebook!”

Jason lazily swam with his back on the water, spraying Nico with water with his kicking. “I just made one up. Do you know what rule number two is?”

“What?”

After making an underwater backflip, Jason swam toward Nico. He flinched as Jason suddenly jabbed him in his nose as he swam by. “You are it now.”

Without wasting a second, Jason immediately dived under with Nico in close pursuit. The two spent the rest of their evening playing around and enjoying each other’s company. Nico’s troubles were all but forgotten by the time they returned to HQ. Quite a few eyebrows were raised at how drenched wet the two were but no one asked them anything. Nico slept in Jason’s room that night, chatting away late into the wee hours of the morning before cuddling with Jason as they dozed off in each other’s embrace.

* * *

_Three Days Later_

“You are sure it’s completely safe, Dr. Vahlen?”

“You have my complete assurance that Colonel di Angelo will not be placed in any danger at any time whatsoever, Colonel Grace.”

Jason planted a kiss on Nico’s lips as the doors to Dr. Vahlen’s new research facility slid open. “Stay safe. I’ll be waiting for you.” As he stepped through the doors with the doctor, Nico shot a reassuring smile to his boyfriend who waved as the doors finally slammed shut. This was for Nico’s own good, Jason told himself. He did have several things to do in the meantime however.

* * *

_An Hour Later_

“You want to what?! And you want us to what?!” Kane, Valdez, Beauregard and Beckendorf all stared at Jason across the table, eyes wide open as they tried to process his unusual appeal. It was a little much to take in, given how some of them had just awakened minutes earlier.

Jason raised his hands into the air as he admitted the strangeness of his request. “I know, I know, it’s a bizarre request, I know. But as a colleague, friend and fellow soldier, I’m really calling in a favour here, people.”

Beckendorf snorted, “Bizarre request? The R&D guys asked me yesterday to help them attach 384 helium filled floaties to make a Floater float. I’ve seen weirder stuff.”

“We are just concerned about the consequences, Grace. Do we have any form of authorisation from Bradford or the Commander? And most importantly,” Beauregard said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I really want to do this. A hundred percent. I will not regret this.”

Kane cleared her throat. “I sincerely hope you don’t. Guys, group discussion ASAP.”

Jason watched as his four colleagues put their heads together in a closed circle discussing in hushed whispers. Occasionally, one of them would turn to look at him before continuing on with the discussion. At one point, Valdez yelped when Kane smacked him in the back of his head.

“Alright. We’re in,” Beckendorf announced. “But like what Silena said, you must get assurance that we won’t suffer any consequences from helping you.”

“I’m already working on that.”

“So, what is it you want us to do?” Valdez enquired.

Jason leaned forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff is in the air. Next chapter will be...similar.
> 
> Also, a request. If you can think up a better summary of this story, please just post it in the comments. I keep trying to cook up a good summary but it keeps falling apart. Thanks in advance, peeps! :D


	12. In the Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Except for a single buzzing bulb that barely helped in lighting up the place, the barn was shrouded in darkness and without a sound. George and Martha peered at him from their stalls before whinnying softly. Though Nico was used to darkness, he could not help but feel that his pulse was starting to quicken on its own. Where in the world was Jason? His mouth grew dry when he felt a cold fleshless hand gripping his right shoulder. Driven by primal instinct, he immediately swung his elbow at the stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24 September 2015. Nico is about to be released from the labs and Jason is waiting for him. Jason has something planned up for Nico in the meantime.

Nico winced instinctively as the bright glare of the laboratory lights temporarily blinded him. While the door of his test pod slowly swung open, he shook his head weakly. His head was throbbing away like there was a steam train attempting to crash through his cranium. He felt that he would need an entire truckload of aspirin to make the pounding sensation go away. Even as all this was going on, Nico felt different. He could not find the words to describe it but it just felt that something was missing from his mind. Not a literal part of his brain, but it was as though a blockage had been removed from his mind, liberating it.

The restraints that had held him inside the pod finally loosened before releasing his arms and legs. Gravity took hold of him and he immediately fell on his knees. It was by sheer luck that he managed to avoid falling flat on his face when he used his hands to break the fall. Nico groaned when he felt his stomach grumble and demand a cheeseburger. Having to sustain himself with a liquid diet for ten days inside a stifling space was an awful nightmare he would not wish on anyone, except perhaps for the aliens. It was also an incredibly humiliating experience to have to do his business in adult diapers. He really did need a warm shower. His nose crinkled at his own stench, the result of not showering for the past ten days.

The throbbing seemed to intensify with each passing second; the thumping deafened his own ears. Nico squeezed his eyes shut in order to concentrate, somewhat hoping that he could make it go away if he closed enough hard enough. Interestingly, the throbbing subsided into silence. A serene calm seemed to wash over him before he began opening his eyes once more. He gasped in fright as his eyes suddenly flashed a vivid violet hue for a few seconds before returning to their normal brown state.

Staggering to his feet, Nico slowly stretched out his hand in front of him. He turned the palm of his hand toward himself. Now was the moment of truth, to see whether he was actually ‘gifted’ like Dr. Vahlen had put it. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before concentrating on relaxing his mind. The raucous whirring and hissing of the laboratory equipment seemed to quiet down as he held back his senses in his attempt at concentrating his energy into a single point.

He thought about his parents, his sister, his friends and Jason. Jason. The one whose touch could make him forget all his troubles and worries. The one he cared for most and cared for him most. If it ever had to come to it, Nico would willingly lay down his life for Jason just as he knew he would for him. He could already imagine a post-war future when he could finally settle down with Jason and spend the rest of his life with him, maybe with some children by their side. He could not resist cracking a smile at that thought. Jason was simply the one, his soulmate, he knew it. Nico felt his senses returning, the clatter of equipment was making a comeback. His eyes opened. Hovering above the palm of his hand was a swirling lilac ball of otherworldly energy. That very instant, he knew that humanity had finally entered a new epoch of history.

Nico felt eyes on him and sure enough, behind the observation window, were Bradford, an entire team of gaping scientists and Jason. His boyfriend was watching him closely; his lightning blue eyes were hooded with concern. However, he did manage a friendly wave which Nico reciprocated. He realised that he still held the swirling energy ball in his hand and it was kind of obvious he was not going to carry it around with him. Holding out his palm before his face, he willed the orb to dissipate and with a flick of his fingers, the energy evaporated into thin air.

The laboratory doors slid open as Dr. Vahlen strided into the room, her tablet firmly under her arm. “Colonel di Angelo, it appears that my predictions about you have been proven correct. You are indeed gifted. Now, if you please, do follow me. A quick medical examination must be conducted before we can release you. Colonel Grace has been very...anxious about you.”

“I am not the least bit surprised.” Nico admitted with his cheeks lightly blushing. He quickly followed the doctor out of the room as the doors slammed shut behind him.

* * *

 

“Sup, Jason? Here to pick Nico up?” Dr. Solace leaned leisurely against the laboratory doors as he flipped through the research papers on his clipboard. Jason propped himself up against the wall opposite the scientist, folding his arms as he waited to greet Nico. “Yeah, pretty much that. I have something planned for him later.”

“Ooh, something romantic? Let me guess. It’s a date?” Solace teased.

“Pretty much that. Don’t tell him.”

“My lips are sealed.” The doctor briefly glanced at his watch. “He should be out in about 20 minutes, give or take. They need to do a vitals check, run a test or two and give him a good scrubbing. He can’t possibly smell that good after ten days without a shower!”

Jason laughed lightly before deciding to press Solace for answers to the many questions that were playing around in his mind. “So, Nico is one hundred percent absolutely human, right? Not at all an alien?”

“Yup. I thought Dr. Vahlen has already discussed this with you guys.”

“She has,” said Jason. “But how would you explain Nico’s powers then?”

“Oh, God.” Solace tucked his clipboard under his arm before slowly rubbing his forehead. “This is going to take a while to explain. There’s going to be a fuckload of science mumbo-jumbo. You’re okay with that?”

“I am.”

“Okay,” he began. “His powers are basically the same ones that the Sectoids and their Commanders have. This is true. These powers AKA psionic powers are latent abilities which only seem to materialise among certain people, Nico included. Have I lost you yet?”

“Wait.” Jason interrupted his explanation. “People? There are more people with these psionic powers?”

“You didn’t hear? The French girl that Alpha Squad rescued on Friday shoved them away without even touching them. Probably a telekinetic.”

“Then, how did Nico become psionic all of a sudden?”

“That we aren’t completely sure about. He might have ignited it somehow the other day though. We still have not really identified how he did it. Dr. Vahlen believes that the psionic potential AKA the chance of a person having psionic powers is determined by hereditary genetics and possibly, mental strength, which means that the possibility of a person having them is essentially one in a million. Are you lost yet?”

Jason shook his head before asking another question. “So, what exactly can Nico do with his powers?”

“Again, we aren’t exactly sure,” Solace admitted. “We don’t exactly have a jail of alien captives for him to test his abilities on. We will have to wait for a field test once you guys enter combat. Dr. Vahlen hypothesises that because his powers have just recently been ignited, the range of his abilities will be limited, but will grow the more he uses them. Like a video game, you know, the more you use something, the more special abilities and attacks will get unlocked.” He paused. “I didn’t lose you at any point, did I?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, that’s good! You know, when I was still lecturing in NYU, none of my students ever – Holy shit!” He fell backwards as the doors behind him slid open, causing him to land at an unimpressed Dr. Vahlen’s feet. He cracked a nervous smile while slowly waving up at her.

“Dr. Solace, I have warned you for the umpteenth time not to lean on all the doors on this base! I have no intentions of continuously reminding you basic safety measures for the rest of your tenure here!”

The cowering Solace mumbled a string of apologies as he picked himself up and dusted his knees. “Now, go and help Zia clean this place up,” she ordered with a Germanic fury. “Everything must be ready when I bring in the Durand girl for testing on Thursday.”

Her sharp eyes stared daggers at him before she let Solace scurry away with his tail between his legs. She softened her fierce gaze when she turned her sights on Jason and Nico who were caught in each other’s embrace. “Colonel di Angelo, should you encounter any complications, do not hesitate to inform me or any of my subordinates in the labs. I will be watching your progress with great interest.” With that, she turned on her heels and strided away toward the lifts.

“So,” Jason sniggered, “You’re basically the Scarlet Witch now!”

“Warlock,” Nico corrected with a slight frown. He flicked his fingers to materialise an energy ball before dissipating it. “That’s the male equivalent of a witch. Honestly though, I would have preferred being the Winter Soldier.”

“Why? So you can be the counterpart to my being Captain America?”

Nico wasted no time punching Jason lightly in the shoulder, earning himself a yelp. This was kind of becoming a ritual between the two of them. They paused when they heard Nico’s stomach rumbling in protest of not being filled. The expression ‘I could eat a horse’ was coming one step closer to a literal act each time he ignored his hunger pangs. “Do you have anything to eat? I seriously could do with two pizzas now.”

“Yeah, about that.” Nico immediately noted Jason scratching the back of his neck, which he always did when he was nervous. “Are you free tonight? Because I kind of have something planned up tonight, for just the two of us.”

“A dinner date, you mean?” Nico stood on his toes to stroke the side of Jason’s face. While he was certainly one of XCOM’s deadliest operatives, Jason had a surprisingly romantic soft side when it came to Nico. He was genuinely curious about what Jason had planned later that night. Perhaps a movie night, he thought to himself.

“Something like that. I’ll fill you in on the details later.”

“Come on! Spill it!” Nico light-heartedly begged his unyielding boyfriend. “You know, I could mind-control you to tell me.”

“But would you?”

Jason was rather surprised that Nico did not immediately response with a firm ‘no’ as he had expected. Had he any mind-controlling abilities, Jason would have never used them on Nico, for it felt morally and ethically wrong. Only after a full minute of thinking did Nico finally answer his question. “No. But if it involves saving your life, I would.”

“Good boy.” Jason took hold of his boyfriend’s hand and tenderly kissed it. The two lovers then leisurely strolled toward the lifts hand in hand, excitedly gushing about Nico’s newly acquired powers. A solitary yelp could be heard in the hallways of XCOM Headquarters immediately after Jason revealed that he was fine with a mind control kink.

* * *

  
Sweeping his hair into a tidy ponytail, Nico combed his hair as neatly as he could while eyeing himself in the mirror. Nico had generally never thought much about his own physical appearance for he had always imagined himself as a generic-looking guy with nothing much to show off. Hence, it still rather baffled him how Jason found him attractive. At times, he wondered whether Jason simply had a bad taste in men. He was not exactly an unsightly abomination, but he sincerely felt that there was nothing really noteworthy about his looks.

The pupils of his dark brown eyes glimmered with the faintest purple, a reminder of his powers. A single wet strand of black hair stuck out like a sore thumb on his forehead. He tried to sweep it back in line, but it proved to be an extremely defiant strand as it sprang back to its prior position as soon as he removed his hand. Nico decided to leave it alone. He wrapped a towel around his bare waist before exiting his bathroom. He still had no idea where his dinner date with Jason was supposed to take place, but Jason had promised to tell him beforehand. In the meantime however, he would use the time he had to dress for the occasion.

The light yellow note that had been slipped under his door drew his attention. Nico picked up the note which had a single word, ‘Outside’, inscribed on it, unmistakably Jason’s handwriting. The smiley face that Jason had doodled next to the message did indeed make Nico break a small smile. Grabbing his phone that laid on his bedside cabinet, he switched it on to check the time. His heart missed a beat when he realised that it was fifteen minutes past six. He was supposed to meet Jason at six. After hastily donning a simple black singlet and a pair of camo cargo pants, Nico rushed out of his quarters and made his way toward the exit.

Except for a single buzzing bulb that barely helped in lighting up the place, the barn was shrouded in darkness and without a sound. George and Martha peered at him from their stalls before whinnying softly. Though Nico was used to darkness, he could not help but feel that his pulse was starting to quicken on its own. Where in the world was Jason? His mouth grew dry when he felt a cold fleshless hand gripping his right shoulder. Driven by primal instinct, he immediately swung his elbow at the stranger.

“Good evening, Senor di Angelo,” Valdez calmly greeted as Nico’s elbow missed his head by an inch. “Senor Grace has been expecting you.”

“Oh, fuck! Seriously, couldn’t you just call out to me or something? What’s with the jump-scare?” Nico suddenly noticed that the Mexican was dressed immaculately in a bow tie dress and a vest. He started wondering whether he was completely underdressed for the occasion. Surely Jason would not have planned anything as formal as a candlelit dinner, he thought to himself.

As soon as he ascended the spiral stairway to the attic, Nico realised how wrong he was. The attic that had been previously filled with dust bunnies and cobwebs had clearly been cleaned up and refurbished. Gleaming string lights were stretched from beam to beam and the old wooden floorboards had been hidden away under rolls of red carpet. White silk curtains draped the sole window that provided a splendid view of the faraway hills and the starry night sky.

As Nico stepped into the room, all eyes centred on him. Kane, Beauregard and Beckendorf were all dressed to impress that night, with the ladies in dazzling evening gowns and Beckendorf in a dapper business suit. The Englishwoman could not resist sniggering when she saw how plainly dressed Nico was while her colleagues just gave him a friendly nod of welcome. They stood some distance away from the round table that was the centrepiece of the room, with its chequered tablecloth and lit scented candles. Nico suddenly felt a familiar set of fingers slipping between his own before taking his hand.

“You look incredibly...mesmerising tonight,” Jason teasingly murmured into his ear. “Really? Because I feel fucking underdressed.” Nico turned to face Jason and the sight of the perfection that was Jason took the breath out of him. Jason’s suit was blue like the colour of his eyes; sharp-looking, and well-fitted. Nico was growing more mortified by the second at how underdressed he was compared to his boyfriend. Still, Jason’s suit fitted him well, it enhanced his attractiveness by several notches, and when he smiled, it was a tad bit captivating.

“I hope you’re fine with French food, courtesy of Beauregard.”

* * *

  
“You missed a spot.” Jason rubbed his thumb over a spot of chocolate mousse that smeared Nico’s lower lip before sucking it off his own thumb. He could not help blushing when he heard Beauregard letting out a near inaudible squee.

Nico took a final sip from his wine glass before turning in his seat to face his squad mates huddled in a corner of the room. “You know, guys, you really didn’t have to do this for me.” They laughed heartily before saying that it was their greatest honour to help make this dinner a success, though Jason was sure that he saw Kane silently mouthing that he really owed all of them multiple favours. She was right though; they had spent much of their week preparing for a dinner date that he had planned. He really did owe them a lot.

Jason rose to his feet before helping Nico up. “Could we just go down and out for a bit?” Nico smiled timidly as he tightened his grasp around Jason’s hand before letting him lead the way downstairs. The sky had taken on an indescribable beauty that night. The stars twinkled from far above while the moon let its beams illuminate dispel the darkness of the night. Nico beheld the magnificent sight that laid before him, not noticing that Jason had slipped away into the darkness.

“You have it ready?” Valdez held aloft a suit of Archangel Armour that he had managed to convince the R&D department to lend. Jason muttered a word of thanks before hurriedly putting it on. After making sure that all the parts were securely in place, he went up behind Nico before turning him around on his heels. Nico raised an eyebrow when he saw that Jason was in armour, and then only did he notice the jetpacks behind him.

“May I have this dance?” All thoughts seemingly fell from Nico’s mind. He nodded, his dark brown eyes fixated on Jason’s lightning blue ones. He dropped his then, uncertain where to place his hands. Jason’s steady hands met his, guided them. Nico suddenly realised that his own two feet were no longer tethered to the ground for they were now hovering several feet in the air. Usually, he was not comfortable with heights and would have protested, but with Jason’s striking eyes wordlessly assuring him of his own safety, he let his worries slip away.

While their colleagues watched and cooed over them from the attic window, the two lovers moved quietly in each other’s arms. Nico’s head rested comfortably against Jason’s chest. As he moved closer in Jason’s arms, he took in Jason’s naturally fresh scent. Jason drew him even closer and allowed him to feel the affection in his strength. Neither of them attempted to hurry the dance, but simply took their time in being close to their beloved and knowing that there were no boundaries between them. Nico lifted his face up to search his boyfriend’s eyes in the glimmering moonlight and pushed his lips against his. Initially, it was nothing more than a tender drawn-out touch of the lips; Jason nibbled his lips nearly playfully. Nico’s lips were indescribably soft and tempting; Jason kissed, sucked and nibbled on his lips without a care for the world. Nico, normally so quiet and reserved, just went with the flow willingly without a hint of reluctance in his heart.

Slowly, Jason lowered himself to the ground, arms wrapped tightly around Nico with their lips still touching. Nico pressed his forehead against his, panting as he quietly whispered, “That was really beautiful. Thank you, Jason.” Throughout their dance, Jason had his mind clouded with so many fears and worries about what he was planning to do next. However, the moment those words left Nico, he knew what he had to do. This was madness, parts of his mind screamed, but he decided that for once, he would let his heart take the charge.

“Nico, the moment you stepped into my life,” Jason admitted, “Nothing has ever been the same again. You have become part of my life, whether I want it or not. In this past six months, I have been the happiest man in the world. And you’re the reason behind my happiness.” Jason reached into his pocket and whipped out a small black velvet box. Nico stood motionless in shock as Jason bent his knee and opened the box to reveal a small ring of silver that was embedded with a single crystal that emitted a faint orange glow. “I know this incredibly cheesy,” Jason continued. “But I want to be part of your life and want you to be part of mine. I wish I could give you everything, but I hope that this ring is enough. Nico di Angelo, will you continue making me the happiest man alive?”

Everyone bit their tongue as they waited for Nico to respond. He remained speechless. In reality, Nico had already imagined this scenario several times in his head, but he had never expected it to actually become a reality. His mind went blank. He had no idea what to say or how to respond. He loved Jason, more than anything else in the world, but was this simply too fast? What if things didn’t work out? What if he lost him in the many battles they would fight in the future? The thought of losing Jason nearly made him weak at the knees. Then, something clicked in his head.

He knelt on the ground so that his face was at the same level with Jason’s. Jason nearly stumbled when Nico suddenly threw his arms around him and locked his lips around his own. “To be with you is what makes my life complete. What you said was incredibly cheesy, but you on the other hand, are perfect.” He stared right into Jason’s eyes as he slowly whispered, “I will.” Immediately, as the two lovers exchanged another kiss, their colleagues burst into a riot of celebration with whoops and cheers of joy. Kane reluctantly stuffed a ten dollar note into a very jubilant Valdez’s hand, muttering to herself that she would never make a bet again. Without a word more, Jason picked Nico up in his arms effortlessly before carrying him down into the base. The Archangel Armour laid discarded on the ground. He had no care for who saw them. All he knew was that Nico’s hands were wrapped around his neck and his head was buried in the crook of his neck. With each step he took toward his room, he realised that he was entering a new chapter in his life, he was coming closer and closer to making the fantasy he had months ago a reality.

As he reached the doors of his room, he hesitated for a moment. Was he truly going to make love to the one he loved more than life itself? Nico lifted his head to see the reason for his pause. Jason noticed him, smiled and lowered his head to his lips in a sweet tender kiss. The doors slid open as Jason carried Nico into his room before laying him on his bed. With a push of a button, the doors closed quietly behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutty chapter, next? Opinions, opinions! If you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to give them in the comments.


	13. Consummation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason tightly wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest. He squeezed his eyes shut as the intense pleasure he knew was coming threatened to overwhelm him. As the final wave started to erupt, Jason whispered, “Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24 September 2015. Jason and Nico seal their relationship. Smut chapter. Rejoice!

“Jason.” Nico whimpered his lover’s name as Jason gently tucked and nipped at the skin of his neck. He had always seen Jason as an attractive man, but with him positioning himself over Nico on all fours, he appeared indescribably ravishing. His gorgeous lightning blue eyes had taken on an animalistic glint, in what Nico could only later describe as a ravenous look. Nico shuddered when the realisation dawned on him that he was the prey and Jason the predator. Jason was hungry for him, to be with him, to be in him. Determined to keep his head together, Nico took hold of Jason’s face before pulling him towards himself. He probably had to straighten some things out before they did anything, just in case.

“Jason, I think that I should probably let you know that I’m a...” Nico paused as he fumbled with the word ‘virgin’. He felt somewhat embarrassed of his inexperience. Jason tenderly wrapped his hand around Nico’s and squeezed it, urging him to go on. Nico continued, “...This is my first time. I’ve never done this before, so please go slow on me.”

Letting out a hearty laugh, Jason pressed their foreheads together as he gazed into Nico’s dark chocolate eyes. “You want to know something, babe?” he asked. He teasingly caressed his lover’s cheeks before stealing a kiss from Nico. As he leaned in, he faintly murmured into his ear, “This is my first time too.”

A stunned silence immediately followed after Jason’s admission. Nico raised his eyebrow questioning the truth of his words. “I find that incredibly difficult to believe,” he coyly admitted with his arms folded.

“What? You think that I sleep around with everyone?” Jason was incredulous but found it amusing that Nico had the impression that he was a Casanova of sorts.

“Umm, kinda. You’re my definition of a chick magnet after all.”

Jason rolled his eyes as he cupped Nico’s cheeks. His pale olive skin was flawless without any blemish or scarring. He had clearly been spared the ravages of puberty and acne. “Well, I’m a virgin. For now.” He smiled when he saw Nico shivering under the effects of his last two words. He continued, “Because tonight, you’ll be my first and last, my one and only.” He leaned in even closer before sinfully teasing, “I’ll go slow, babe, until you beg me to go faster.”

With their bodies pressing against each other, Jason trailed up his hands; gently placing them on the sides of Nico’s head before peppering his face with kisses. Quick but passionate kisses on his forehead, on his eyelids, on his cheeks and on his luscious lips. He did not stop there however as he continued to make his way southward. Again, he nibbled away at the soft skin of Nico’s neck, chuckling when he felt Nico’s hands tugging at his hair. He was still not done with him however.

The burning desire to see Nico in all his glory overcame Jason as he hooked his fingers around the thin straps of Nico’s black singlet before pulling it over his head. Jason had seen Nico without a shirt several times in the past, but never this close and never with the feeling that he was his and only his. Nico’s body was not rippling with buns of steel, but the four-pack abs that he had chased away any doubt about his physical fitness. They only added to the perfection that was his body. Almost instinctively, Jason ran his hand over Nico’s slim torso, appreciating the fact that each muscle was visibly distinct but not as much as his own. He knew that Nico was a man of smaller frame than him, but with his body quavering under Jason, he looked delightfully tantalising.

As he murmured sweet nothings into Nico’s olive skin, Jason started his journey down his neck, stopping only to nibble on his Adam’s apple. Jason inhaled sharply, as though he was out of breath, when he felt the silkiness of Nico’s skin under his lips. “You taste good.” He felt proud of himself when Nico jerked shakily at those words of his. The salt of his sweat had an attractive taste that felt exquisite to Jason. Upon locating Nico’s collarbone, Jason ran the tip of his slick tongue over it, earning himself a well-deserved throaty moan. Jason continued making his way southward, leaving a trail of saliva along Nico’s heaving bare chest. Nico’s hardened nipples caught his attention; they were a shade darker than his pale olive skin. Jason promptly devoured them, running his tongue over each raised nub. It was not long before he decided to move on, trailing lower and lower to his awaited prize. Nico had to bite back a moan as he was assaulted by wave after wave of intense pleasure. Nothing could ever compare to this sensation of Jason’s tongue on his skin, he silently thought to himself.

After leaving wet circles around Nico’s belly button, Jason breathed deeply, like he could not get enough air in his lungs, when he realised that all he had left was his grand prize. A tent had unmistakably formed in Nico’s pants, a tent that Jason wished to explore in all its entirety. Everything he had done so far had been leading up to this moment. His hands snaked toward Nico’s pants, fumbling with the fastener as he impatiently sought to see Nico’s most intimate areas for the first time. A warm hand suddenly gripped his wrist, preventing him from continuing his efforts.

“Stop,” Nico ordered. Jason looked up at his face with a questioning gaze. “I...want...to see you.” Speechless for a moment, Jason’s face twisted into a smirk as he lusciously purred at Nico, “Someone’s frisky today.” He took hold of Nico’s right hand before leading him to his collar button. He stayed still as a statue while Nico slowly and carefully unbuttoned his shirt before stripping him of it. Nico took his time to enjoy the spectacle that unfolded before him. He felt Jason’s blue eyes piercing his soul before finally grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head.

Jason felt his cheeks burn red when he saw Nico’s mouth dropping open and his eyes glazing with lust as Nico ogled his ripped body and bulging muscles. A small drop of drool hung on Nico’s lower lip as he reached back up and ran his hands tenderly over Jason’s washboard abs. Needless to say, Nico was awestruck by the Adonis above him. His fingers left Jason’s well-sculpted stomach and made their way to his powerful arms, gripping his biceps. Without being asked, Jason flexed them, letting his boyfriend feel the strength that they possessed. Nico’s eyes flew wide open at the muscles that tensed along his body. “You’re so beautiful,” he hungrily whispered.

“Nothing compared to you.” Jason swept aside Nico’s hands as he finally unfastened Nico’s pants and pulled them off. His breath slowed when he saw how vulnerable Nico was, clad only in his tight-fitting black boxers. His hard-on strained against the cotton material, leaving a small wet spot on it. Nico jerked uncontrollably when Jason slipped his hand under the waistband before hooking his fingers around it. The last time Jason had done this, Nico had prevented him from completing his objective but this time around, he did not lift a finger to stop him. Jason looked up at Nico, wordlessly asking for permission to remove the single article of clothing that he had left on him. When he received the nod he needed from Nico, Jason pulled Nico’s underwear down.

Jason had seen many beautiful sights throughout his life, but there was nothing that could compare to what he was seeing before him. When Nico was clothed, he was beautiful but when he was completely naked and pinned under him, he was...breathtaking. He ran his eyes over him, his mouth gaping in awe at the embodiment of magnificence that laid under him. Nico’s cock stood at attention, hard as a rock and begging to be touched. For his lean size, Nico had an impressive seven-incher which was now resting hard against his chiselled abs. It suited him in Jason’s opinion. “I see someone has done quite a bit of manscaping,” Jason chortled. There was not a strand of hair to be seen on him, not around his crotch or his belly button. His skin was as smooth as silk.

“It’s kind of a personal thing of mine.” Nico felt his face burning and turned away to hide his blush from Jason. Jason’s hand reached for Nico’s chin and gently turned his face back to him. “It’s okay. I like you just the way you are,” he said quietly.

Jason was surprised when he noticed Nico trying his best to stifle a laugh before finally letting out a raucous guffaw. “Seriously, please don’t make me think of Mr. Rogers when we’re going to have sex.” Mental images of the beloved television personality watching them in coitus slipped into Jason’s mind, making him gag at the terrifying thought. “Fuck,” he cursed. “Forgot about him. Forget what I just said.”

Nico's laughter gave way to unashamed moaning when Jason grinded his clothed erection against Nico’s hard-on. When he saw Jason licking his lips, Nico felt a shudder travelling throughout the length of his body. Jason brought his head downward, so that his mouth was just a mere inch away from Nico’s aching cock. Nico whimpered in a needy way before thrusting his body upward in order to rub the head of his cock against Jason’s mouth. Smirking at how enthusiastic his boyfriend was, Jason pressed his lips against the hardened shaft, moaning deeply when he let the musky smell of his arousal envelop him for the first time. His heart started pounding wildly when he finally gave in to his earthly desires and swallowed Nico’s cock whole.

No words, human or alien, could describe the sensations that Nico felt that instant. The image of Jason hollowing out his cheeks to swallow his cock was one that he would never forget for the rest of his life. Ripples of pleasure streamed throughout his entire body when he felt the moist warmth of Jason’s mouth surrounding him. For a guy who supposedly was a virgin, Jason was surprisingly capable at giving head. The head of Nico’s manhood prodded the back of Jason’s throat when Jason mouthed down his entire length. While he was sucking in his cheeks, Jason’s constant moans added to the intense feelings that Nico was feeling. Nico was racing toward the precipice, but he did not want it to end this quickly, it was simply too good to waste.

Jason bobbed his head slowly, raggedly sucking a little harder each time. Nico laid his hands on Jason’s head, threading his fingers through his golden locks of hair, holding on tightly when waves of pleasure pulsed through his veins. Nico arched his back with hitching breaths when he felt Jason’s slick tongue lapping away at the beads of precum emerging from the slit of his cock. A lust filled haze engulfed the two, both of them aware that their partner was enjoying this as much as they were. Jason chuckled when Nico shamelessly spread his legs wider to push his head lower in order to reach deeper into Jason’s mouth. This did not feel real. This felt like fantasy, a dream come true. However, Nico took great pleasure in the fact that he knew the truth; this was indeed happening, Jason’s swollen lips were around his cock and he loved every moment of it. Despite all the shockwaves that his mind was going through, Nico realised that he was reaching his climax in a matter of seconds. He had other intentions on his mind.

“Stop.” Nico brought Jason to a pause before pulling his wet cock out of Jason’s mouth. Jason stared in disappointment at Nico, silently quizzing him about his intentions. He groaned loudly the moment Nico seductively revealed his intentions. "I want you to be inside me when I cum.” Without waiting for Jason’s permission, Nico reached for his belt buckle, unbuckled it and proceeded to pull Jason’s pants off. “Wow.” The fact that Jason had gone commando had not gone unnoticed by Nico, who came face to face with Jason’s rod-like appendage. "It's huge..." Nico murmured weakly, shakily, as he stared in awed disbelief at the pulsing veins which ran up and down Jason’s considerable length. He made sure to take in every detail of Jason’s cock because he had never seen another man’s penis in the flesh. It measured at least nine inches long and was as thick as a Coke can, Nico had always suspected that Jason was hung but he would have never expected Jake to be packing this beautiful intimidating beast. Nico felt a little self-conscious, comparing the size of Jason’s dick to his own. Although Nico was still hard, remarkably, and even though he knew that he himself was rather quite well-endowed for his age and size, Nico felt almost tiny when facing Jason’s massive cock.

Jason placed his hands on Nico’s shoulders, pushing him back down onto the bed. He knelt over Nico as he raked his long fingers through Nico’s tufts of inky black hair. At some point, Nico’s hair band had fallen off and his hair had returned to its natural unkempt state. Nico was not aware of it but Jason preferred it if it stayed that way, it simply felt more authentic to him. As much as his more animalistic side demanded that he just grab his cock and shove it deep into Nico, he kept his calm composure as he softly murmured into Nico’s ear, “We don’t have to do this, you know.”

“It’s okay. I want to do this.”

Jason pushed Nico’s hair back as he planted a loving kiss on his nose. He lifted Nico’s chin with his index finger, so that Nico could look him straight in the eye. “I don’t want to hurt you.” A radiant smile spread across Nico’s face as he threw his arms around Jason’s neck. “I can take it. Please,” he begged desperately.

  
Without breaking his captivating gaze, Jason reached out his left hand toward his bedside cabinet to retrieve a bottle. Nico lifted his head to see what it was. “Vaseline. The Supplies Department doesn’t provide KY Jelly.”

Nico let out a small laugh before deciding to ask, “How long have you been saving that?”

“Umm, I kind of jerk off with it.” Jason’s face flushed radish red and radiated heat like a hot pan. “We will need condoms." Jason was in the process of retrieving a packet of condoms from his drawer when Nico stopped him. “I want to feel you in me, with nothing between us.” The way he said that line was so deeply alluring that Jason had to bite back a moan.

Without a word more, Jason lifted Nico’s thighs and wrapped them around his waist. Jason’s cock hung mere inches away from Nico’s puckered hole. Nico watched intently as Jason flipped open the bottle and covered his finger with the smooth jelly. Jason noticed that Nico was squeezing his eyes shut despite not having been penetrated yet. “Nico, relax. Keep your eyes on me. I’m here with you, for you.” Nico did as he was told and opened his eyes to see Jason staring into his eyes with such passion and intensity. He jolted when he felt Jason’s finger lined up with his entrance.

“Breathe, babe.” Nico gasped as Jason slowly inserted his finger all the way. It was such a strange feeling, that Jason’s finger was inside his body. Jason attempted to distract Nico from the bizarreness of the sensation by sucking Nico’s lower lip into his mouth. It seemed to pay off as Nico only flinched when Jason added a second finger to the mix and started scissoring them. He retracted them for a moment, giving Nico a quick moment of respite before introducing a third finger and placing it inside him. Nico dug his fingernails into Jason’s muscular back when he felt Jason’s fingers unhurriedly thrusting into him. Then, Jason brushed over a spot that resulted in Nico crying out in intense pleasure. He could barely form a coherent sentence when Jason hit that spot again. His eyes rolled back at the indescribable ecstasy. “Jason,” he mewled. “That spot! Touch it! Please!”

Jason chuckled as he knew that he had found that spot that made Nico’s toes curl with pleasure. He retracted his fingers, much to Nico’s dismay. Before he could complain though, Jason slathered up his cock with a generous amount of Vaseline. “You’re ready for this?”

Nico nodded his head enthusiastically. All he wanted now was to have that spot inside him touched again, be it by Jason’s fingers or his cock. “It’s going to be a bit painful,” Jason warned. “Are you ready for this?” His lightning blue eyes locked on Nico’s dark brown eyes as he waited for his answer.

“I am.”

The moment that Jason had been waiting for the entire night had finally arrived. Jason pressed the thick head of his erection against Nico’s tight entrance and slowly began to push himself all the way in. Initially, the sphincter put up quite a bit of resistance despite the preparation that Jason had done earlier. This was to be expected, for Nico was a virgin and his body was unused to such attention to that specific part of his anatomy. Jason had only the head of his cock inside Nico but he halted himself from going any deeper because he saw that Nico was grimacing in pain.

“Breathe, babe, breathe.” Jason nuzzled the sobbing Nico to encourage him to relax and let his defences down. Nico tried to slow down his rapidly thumping heart by taking in some deep slow breaths, but it was still painful to have someone as endowed as Jason pushing up deep inside of him. He did see from Jason’s eyes though that Jason felt every instance of pain that he was going through. He nodded to Jason to continue his efforts.

Nico moaned a little, feeling Jason's hardness pressing between his buttocks, feeling Jason kneading and spreading his cheeks. His cock throbbed and ached painfully as Jason slowly began to inch the vast girth of his manhood, inch by painful, torturous, wonderful inch. Pushing inside of Nico was a lengthy act, edging forward at a snail’s pace, pausing after every inch to allow Nico to adjust to him. Each pause felt like hours, even days. If not for his self-control, Jason would have thrown everything to the wind and fuck Nico silly, but he loved him too much to treat him that way. Jason panted heavily when he felt himself being sheathed in Nico’s silky folds, his breath slowly turning orange with the adrenaline that flowed in his veins. To take Nico’s mind off the pain, he claimed his lips in a fiery passionate kiss, swirling his tongue around Nico’s. Nico flinched a little when he felt a bolt of static travel through him, possibly due to Jason’s bioelectric skin. Jason grunted as he finally pushed the final inch into Nico, he was now balls deep inside him.

Nico clung onto Jason’s broad shoulders, feeling the metal sockets that were deeply embedded in his skin. The initial pain was great but as time passed, it subsided into a mere uncomfortable feeling. “How are you feeling?” Nico looked up into Jason’s concerned eyes. Jason seemed to be forcing a smile, as though as he felt incredibly guilty for what he was doing. “A little full,” Nico admitted. “You’re aware that it’s kind of hard to keep up a conversation with your cock in me, right?”

“Well, we could discuss the plot of Pride and Prejudice now.”

Almost instinctively, Nico lightly punched Jason in his shoulder. Even though his punch did not hurt, Jason still yelped in reaction, to keep up what felt like a ritual to them. He pulled Jason closer before breathily whimpering, “Just make love to me, Jason.”

Jason felt Nico relaxing under him and his nails stopped digging into the skin of his back. Nico’s dark brown eyes held nothing but love and desire as he silently pleaded with him to do what he had to do. Little by little, inch by inch, Jason pulled himself out, halting just before the head of his cock emerged from inside Nico. Nico felt Jason smile into his neck, biting and sucking on his skin in such a sublimely titillating manner. Then he felt Jason begin to pick up the tempo, thrusting in and out of him. Nico shivered, this time with pleasure. The pain that Nico had felt slowly subsided and was replaced with a growing sense of bliss. That was, at least, before Jason’s length began hammering into the spot that made him see stars.

“Jason, you can go...faster!” Nico’s eyes and mouth flew wide open as Jason started pounding away at his prostate like a jackhammer. He groaned loudly, feeling a bit of precum leak from the tip of his cock. Jason heeded the words of his boyfriend and pounded Nico into the sheets, determined to strike the spot with each thrust. “Is this too much?” he asked worriedly. Nico’s loud moans were unabashed and innocent simultaneously. “No!” he screamed. “Faster! It’s so good!” His words were barely audible between the moans and grunts that were heard each time Jason rammed his cock inside him. Jason kept plunging into Nico’s tight tunnel, fucking him wildly, without a hint of mercy.

In a move that surprised and somewhat disappointed Jason, Nico suddenly pulled himself off Jason’s cock with a distinct squelching sound. Jason whimpered like a puppy. “Jason, I want you to mount me on my hands and feet.” Immediately, Jason lit up while remarking, “Well, someone has a kink.” Nico got onto all fours before lifting up his hips to offer his behind to Jason. He unashamedly spread his legs a little further to accept Jason’s large girth. He rested his head on his forearms before relaxing and waiting for Jason to do with him as he wished.

It only took a few seconds before he felt Jason’s tip pushing once more on his entrance and Jason thrusted his cock deep into Nico without hesitation. The pain had all dissipated by now. Only to be replaced by absolute ecstasy. Jason rammed that spot again and again, each time earning a different dirty word from Nico. His mouth twisted up into a soft smirk, there was something delightful in the fact that his lover was a dirty boy. The more he heard Nico moaning, the more his movements took on a more violent and untamed behaviour. He kept pulling his entire cock out before slamming it to the hilt once more.

With his hands on Nico’s shoulders, Jason pushed Nico down on the bed, causing him to push his legs even further part. Nico was bucking onto Jason’s cock, trying to get him to go deeper, adding fuel to the fire that was raging inside Jason. His moans, screams and mewls gave away the truth, that Nico was enjoying this as much as Jason was, possibly even more. Jason leaned in to coo into Nico’s ear, “You look so sexy, babe! How do you like my cock inside you?”

In between his cries of pleasure, Nico managed to stutter, “Fucking love it! It feels so good!” Jason took pride in the fact that he and only he was the only person to give Nico this immense amount of pleasure. Nico was his and only his and Jason was Nico’s and only Nico’s.

Nico’s flawless olive skin was shimmering with sweat. Jason appreciated how Nico’s muscular back shifted with every thrust that Jason made, encouraging him to follow the curve of each muscle with his lips. Jason savoured the bitter saltiness of Nico’s sweat while leaving a trail of kisses up his back before ending on the back of his neck. Their height differences permitted him to do this while pounding into him without a care for the world.

A wave of feelings began ripping throughout Jason’s body. He had never thought that anything like this was near the realm of possibility, this was simply too good to be true, but it was. His balls pulled up closer to his body as his climax drew closer. Throughout this time, Jason’s lips were working tirelessly on the skin of Nico’s neck, leaving a large hickey to show people who Nico belonged to. Jason was so close and he knew that Nico was too. Nico’s muscles clinched Jason’s erect flesh so tightly that he could feel the life being choked out of it. His knees were buckling and his legs were quaking. Nico’s perfectly firm and taut ass glistened with a mixture of sweat and Vaseline, glued to Jason’s crotch as he drilled him into the sheets. “I’m so close,” Jason dangerously grunted.

“Me too.” Even if Nico’s hole was hurting like hell at this point, he did not seem to be affected for his muscles tightened around Jason’s cock as though the fate of the world depended on it. Jason kept forcing his hardened cock into his tight and warm tunnel. By this point, Jason’s cock was hard enough to hammer nails into the wall.

Jason tightly wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest. He squeezed his eyes shut as the intense pleasure he knew was coming threatened to overwhelm him. As the final wave started to erupt, Jason whispered, “Together.” Wave after wave of untainted joy engulfed the two lovers. Both their bodies shook and trembled as pleasure pulsed through their veins. “Jason!” Nico’s seed came flowing out in the form of white creamy ribbons that stained the damp bed sheets. Nico felt like his soul was rising into the clouds as his cum continued flowing, shooting out of his cock in concentrated, milky bursts. The combination of all the sensations that Jason felt prompted his own orgasm and he came with the greatest intensity he had ever experienced, bathing Nico’s insides with his warm sticky release. He let out a mighty roar as he came, filling Nico up to the brink that he felt drops of his cum leaking out of Nico’s entrance.

Jason collapsed on top of Nico with a tired sigh, both of them fatigued, dirty, sweaty and incredibly satisfied. As they laid there, feeling the last few spurts of cum leave their bodies, Jason flipped Nico over to kiss him on the lips. “Nico, are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Even after having so much pleasure, Jason still put Nico’s safety and comfort first. Nico showed his appreciation by nipping playfully at Jason’s lips. “Jason, you just gave me the greatest pleasure I’ve ever felt.” He wrapped his arms around Jason’s back and buried his head in Jason’s sweaty chest. “I love you so much,” Nico murmured into his skin. Jason brushed his fingers through Nico’s hair as he responded, “I love you too.”

* * *

 

As tired as he was, Jason could not sleep. His bright eyes remained wide open as he tried to get his mind to relax in vain. A flurry of tormenting thoughts passed through his head, not letting him close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you sleeping?” Nico’s dark brown eyes peered at him from his chest. “Nico, I think I’ll just be honest with you.” He paused to stroke Nico’s ruffled hair. “Sometimes I get angry whenever we disagree over things, but I just want you to know that from now on, I will never forget how fortunate I am to have you by my side. So, if anything ever happens to either of us, please just remember how special you are.”

Nico lifted his head and lightly caressed Jason’s cheekbones. “That...was very sweet of you. I will remember that.” He groaned slightly as he sat up, his muscles aching after such a rough night. “You know,” Nico said with an obvious spark in his eyes, “I’m always up for a round two.”

Jason’s eyes widened and blood started flowing southward to a particular organ of his. “You are?”

Nico smirked as he ran his tongue over Jason’s dry lips. “I am, but are you?”

“You underestimate my power!”

“Jason, make me think of Hayden Christensen again and I’m putting on a chastity belt on you.” Nico jokingly threatened. Stifling a laugh, Jason mumbled an apology before taking the opportunity to push Nico back on the bed and made love to him, his one and only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	14. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small bit of fluff. Currently undergoing writer's block. The problems of having planned out an ending but not a transition. Stay alert, peeps. :D

Nico was the first to wake up, first to find his face buried in the crook of Jason’s neck, their legs entwined. His breath hitched when he realised that Jason had wrapped his arms firmly around him in an affectionate and protective embrace. Feeling the soreness of his backside, Nico groaned into his boyfriend’s taut skin. He silently prayed that he was able to walk without a limp that morning.

  
Then again, the night of passion they had was and would forever be Nico’s most cherished moment of his life, the night where he gave himself up to his beloved lover and became one with him. The memory of Jason’s hands all over his body, the very manly scent of Jason, the sweet taste of his lips and the wonderful ecstasy that Jason had allowed him to experience sent shivers down his spine. The bliss that he had been subjected to was definitely worth the soreness and Nico would not have minded going through it all again.

  
Hoping not to awaken Jason, Nico tried to slowly wriggle out of Jason’s vice-like grip. Inch by inch, he twisted his body and did the best he could to slip out from under Jason’s strong arms. Just as about he was to free his head, he felt long fingers running gently through his scruffy head of hair. “Morning, Ghost King.” Jason’s teeth shone bright as he planted a loving kiss on Nico’s nose.

  
“Ghost King?” Nico raised an eyebrow at his new title.

  
Jason started softly humming the tune to ‘King and Lionheart’ before attempting to sing the chorus. His hoarse morning voice was most certainly unsuited for singing anything. Nico silenced him by capturing his lips in a warm kiss. Initially gentle and loving, his kiss took a more heated passionate turn as time went by.

“Aww. Don’t you like my singing?”

Nico laughed as he stroked Jason’s cheeks. “You sound like a cat getting microwaved.”

“You’re mean.” Jason released Nico before sitting up to let out a mighty yawn. His back was covered with many long thin red scratch marks that Nico had left on him the previous night. Nico felt a pang of guilt for leaving Jason’s skin blemished but Jason said nothing about it, so he did the same. 

Jason got out of his bed and turned to face Nico. His face took on a warm shade of red when he realised that Nico was feasting his eyes on the visual buffet that was his body. It also did not help that his cock was slowly hardening at the sight of a naked Nico swathered in nothing but a thin bedspread. What did he have to say? Nico found him attractive and there was nothing he could or would do to change it. Without asking him for his permission, Jason wrapped one arm under Nico’s legs and the other around his back before carrying him bridal-style off the bed. Unlike the first time he did this, Nico did not protest but rather simply kissed his bare chest as he walked toward the bathroom for a desperately needed shower. There was also the matter of his morning wood they had to attend to.

It was the most tantalising and delightful shower of Nico’s life, in which Jason pushed him flat against the wall as he buried himself in Nico again and again. After that needed quickie, Jason was drying himself with a towel when he heard a sudden gasp. Nico stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the mirror as he touched the long trail of hickeys that Jason had left on the side of his neck.

“Holy shit!” Nico dashed out of the bathroom with only a towel covering his waist and began ransacking Jason’s wardrobe, throwing out articles of clothing onto the floor as he searched for something.

“What the hell are you looking for?” Jason asked.

Nico threw open Jason’s underwear drawer before slamming it shut and glaring at Jason. “What do you think!? A turtleneck obviously! I can’t go out looking like I’ve a fucking zombie bite on my neck! They’ll probably end up throwing me out of here if they saw me like this!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The worst Bradford would do is give us a prep talk on how this is XCOM and not XXX.com.” 

“This is serious, Jason! Since you were the one who put them on me, help me cover them up or you’re not touching me for the next five months!”

Jason shook with suppressed laughter as he picked up his strewed clothing and piled them on his bed before picking out a t-shirt and trousers. He laughed, “Well, you weren’t exactly complaining last night when I was leaving them.”

“I...Well...” Nico had to admit that Jason did have a point. He definitely had not been complaining the previous night when Jason did the deed; on the contrary, he was mewling and begging him to speed up his thrusts. He slumped limply against the wall in defeat.

He barely took notice of Jason rummaging through the pile of his clothing. Only when a shirt and a pair of jeans were thrown onto his lap did he turn his eyes to look at Jason. “Wear this. The collar should cover up most of the marks.” 

“But it won’t cover all of them.”

“Seriously, Nico, only a moron or an asshole would laugh at you. You are a Colonel for fuck’s sake. Just relax. For all you know, people might not even notice a thing.” Jason kissed him on the forehead and ruffled his wet hair. “And if anyone does laugh at you, someone’s going to end up with a broken nose.”

Nico broke gently into a smile. “I seriously hope so. I mean the part where no one notices a thing, not the part where you will break noses. But thanks anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions, kudos and comments are warmly accepted. :D


	15. I Become

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “See anything?” 
> 
> A faint glow in the distance snagged his attention. He squinted before peering through his telescopic sight. There was a small shed at the very end of the construction site, close to the edge, with a dim orange light exiting its only window. He could make out a shadowy figure pacing back and forth behind the grimy window. “Someone’s in that shed over there. North-east of our position.”
> 
> “Shh!” Valdez raised his right arm and everyone stopped dead in their tracks, guns drawn. “I heard something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25 September 2015. Jason and Nico have a run-in with Bradford and Delta Squad is dispatched to Japan to pick up a XCOM operative.

Jason groaned the moment he saw the impish look on Kane’s face. The mischievous grin that she wore stretched from ear to ear gave away the fact that she had spotted the marks on the side of Nico’s neck. He gritted his teeth; everything had been going swimmingly well with no one actually noticing the blemishes on Nico’s skin with the unfortunate exception being her. Jason noticed Nico tensing up with his eyes focused on her. He was clearly feeling uncomfortable, most likely because he was not willing to be the centre of her attraction. As they both sat down at their squad’s table with their breakfast trays, Jason gave Nico’s hand a reassuring squeeze, reminding him that he was beside him. Nico’s face lit up with a shy smile that instantly brightened Jason’s day.

Hearing a childish giggle from Kane, Jason let loose a scorching look at her, warning her not to attempt anything foolish. Beauregard looked on sympathetically for a moment before returning her attention to her cinnamon rolls. Beckendorf remained his stoic self, looking up from his newspaper without a hint of interest to mutter a “Good morning” before engrossing himself in the daily news. The front pages were splashed with news of a series of deadly alien terror attacks in the German cities of Hamburg and Cologne. There was a good reason for the many deep furrows on his forehead. Valdez on the other hand had his arms on the table, literally. He was fooling around with his mechanical limbs, placing his legs into his shoulder sockets and his arms into his thigh sockets. Noticing Jason and Nico, he waved at them with his leg.

Jason’s eyes shot toward Kane once more when he heard her clearing her throat. Her eyes were on Nico, who had lowered his gaze onto his bowl of cornflakes. She either did not notice or simply ignored Jason’s scorching look, because she cheerfully asked, “So, how was your night?”

“Back off, Kane.” Jason spoke in a low voice as cold as death. He usually tolerated her occasionally aggravating mannerisms, but there was something extremely condescending in the way she spoke to Nico. He did not like it.

“Oh, for crying out loud, are we school children or something? I’m just trying to be friendly here! And you owe all of us quite a few favours.”

“Favours or not,” Beauregard broke in, “He is not obliged to divulge us with details of his private life.”

“Seriously, when did all of you become such wet blankets? I wasn’t even asking him, I was asking di Angelo!”

“He’s clearly not comfortable answering your question,” Beckendorf noted. He folded his paper to let loose a scowl at Kane. “Perhaps the phrase, ‘mind your own business’ is not familiar to you?”

“For flying fuck’s sake,” Kane muttered in annoyance. “I was just going to ask whether he enjoyed being a pillowbiter!”

The veins in Jason’s neck began to bulge out in ridges. She may been pushing all his buttons the past few minutes but the moment he heard her calling Nico ‘pillowbiter’, the fury that had been violently bubbling inside of him erupted. He had not been this wrathful for a very long time, but those who had seen him in his moments of rage knew that he was not to be trifled with. He would have made true his threat of breaking noses right that moment if not for a gentle squeeze of his knee.

“Exciting.”

“What?” Everyone turned to face Nico. 

“Last night. It was exciting.” Nico shrugged as he added more milk into his cereal before looking up at his squad mates.

Valdez leaned forward. “Exciting? You surely mean romantic or passionate or heart-palpitating or breathtaking!” Despite his Robocop-like voice, he still managed a dramatic delivery of his line like a Shakespearian thespian of sorts.

“Are you writing a Mills and Boons?!”

“Que?”

“A very British collection of sappy romance novels. Not up to my liking unfortunately.” Beauregard screwed up her nose as though she had bitten into a lemon.

“Anyway,” Valdez turned back toward Nico. “You don’t have to answer my next question. Who was the louder one?”

Nico looked at Jason and Jason looked at Nico. A mischievous smile slowly crept across Nico’s face, prompting Jason to raise an eyebrow back at him. Jason immediately knew what Nico had in mind, but he wordlessly dared him to say it. After a moment of silence in which everyone stared at Nico waiting for his response, he lifted a single finger and pointed it at Jason.

“I wasn’t that loud!” Jason protested.

“You know you were really loud when you were into it, right?” Nico imitated the sound of Jason’s noisy grunts, with the facial expressions to match. The previously calm table erupted into a hysterical riot of laughter and giggles with Valdez banging his leg uncontrollably on the table, leaving Jason to wonder whether he really sounded like that. He realised he did. He was not to be one-upped however; he still had a card to play.

“Okay, maybe I was a little loud,” he admitted. “But you were definitely the talkative one.”

The smile vanished from Nico’s face to be replaced with a pale ashen face. “Jason, don’t!” he begged.

“Oh, yes, how did it go again?” He cracked a defiant smirk at Nico. “Harder! Deeper! Faster!” With each word, he threw his head upward and thrusted his body against the table. The expression on his face was uncannily similar to how Nico had looked the previous night, and Nico knew it. His face took on a beetroot red as his colleagues burst into another round of hysterical laughter. They howled, slapped their hands up and down almost involuntarily and could barely breathe due to their laughing. Even more tears rolled down their cheeks when milk spewed out of the violently shaking Beckendorf’s nose. Nico covered his face in embarrassment, though he too let out a self-depreciating chuckle at himself.

“TMI! TMI! Help!” Valdez wailed.

“I’m trying to eat here! Not discuss your sex lives!” said Beckendorf, still choking while trying to hold back his laughter.

“Discuss what?”

“Sir!” The six simultaneously jumped to their feet to salute Bradford. The Central Officer’s entrance had somehow gone unnoticed by Jason who now had cold beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He certainly did not seem happy, his arms were folded and his stare was paralysing. Perhaps he had been standing around listening without them noticing the entire time. Jason held his breath and his heart pounded wildly. He stole a glance at Nico, only to see him wearing a worried look. Earlier, he had told Nico that all that they would probably be subjected to was a stern telling-off, but in actual fact, he was not actually certain that Bradford was that lenient.

Without saying a word, Bradford marched over to Jason and Nico, his dark eyes never once leaving them. He stood right behind them, looking over their shoulders. From the corner of his eye, Jason thought he saw the officer regarding the exposed lovebite on Nico’s neck. Jason quickly looked away when Bradford’s eyes shot toward him. We are so screwed, he thought to himself. Only through divine providence would they escape this predicament unscathed. If he and Nico were discharged from XCOM, it would essentially be Jason’s fault. He shuddered at the thought.

“At ease.” Bradford gestured the squad to sit down. “Eat up, grab your gear and assemble in the Hangar in fifteen tops.”

Kane, Beckendorf, Beauregard and Valdez had already finished their breakfasts, so they left first, leaving Jason and Nico alone with Bradford. He stared at them as they wolfed down the last remaining breakfast scraps. Jason knew that he had a word or two for them, but whether they were good or not was still to be seen.

“Ice packs.”

“Pardon, sir?”

“That bruise on di Angelo’s neck. Pretty nasty. Try applying an ice pack on it for some time. The medics should be able to get you one.” Jason silently breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the heavens were really shining upon him today. Bradford had not realised was the marks really were. Nico mumbled a word of thanks to the officer who turned and began walking toward the exit.

“We’re so god damn lucky,” Jason whispered to Nico.

Nico said nothing. He then punched Jason in the shoulder.

“What was that for?!”

“This was still kind of your fault.”

Jason was about to point out that Nico had scratched up his back as well when Bradford suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, raised his eyebrows, and cocked his chin at the two. “While relationships between operatives are permitted and in fact, encouraged in the name of comradeship, some level of caution is urged when a relationship turns intimate.” He paused to glare coldly at Jason. “In short, use protection or keep it in your pants, Grace.” He then marched out of the room, snickering under his breath at how dumbfounded Jason and Nico were.

“We’re kind of screwed, aren’t we?”

“Well, at least, you were by me.”

“Cheeky bastard,” Nico jokingly cursed as he stood on his toes to steal a soft kiss from Jason.

“But you liked it, didn’t you?” asked Jason. He cupped Nico’s face in his hands to pierce his soul with his breathtaking lightning blue eyes. A smile grew slowly on his face when he earned a faint whimper from Nico.

“We only have fourteen more minutes, you know?”

Jason chuckled. “You’ll need five minutes tops to suit up. So, we have nine minutes for ourselves.”

Nico’s eyes widened when he realised what Jason had in mind. “You can’t be serious?”

The sheepishly grinning Jason said nothing but took Nico’s hand before leading him into a storage closet. As soon as he looked up and down the hallways to ensure no one was around, he closed the door.

* * *

  
“You’ll be deploying in Tokyo, Japan. Our covert operative on the ground has been gathering intel on the location of EXALT’s HQ for the past week and requires immediate extraction. The information she holds is vital, so safe conduct back to base is essential.”

  
Nico perked up his ears with interest when Bradford mentioned the name of the group that they were being sent against. Jason had told him that EXALT was a human underground secret society that had ambitions to seize power in the chaos of the alien invasion. “Basically the Illuminati,” Jason had said.

  
“Grab your gear and let’s get moving,” ordered Bradford. Just as Nico began heading toward the weapons rack with Jason and the rest of his squad, Bradford held him back, gesturing that he needed to have a word with him. “You go ahead first. I’ll be fine.” Nico gave the concerned Jason a slow, assuring nod and a gentle squeeze on the palm of his hand before turning to face the officer.

“Dr. Vahlen has requested that you use the Archangel Armour. She has made several improvements to the original design and would like you to be the first to try out its combat worthiness.” Nico quietly groaned at the thought of having to hover several feet in the air; far above safe solid ground. Sure, it was a mesmerising moment when he and Jason were doing a slow mid-air dance last night but it was in radically different circumstances; he was not the one wearing the armour and he knew that Jason was not letting him fall. The one and only time he had used the flying armour was during the alien assault on the base, and he had nearly plummeted to a fiery death. Still, he was not in the position to turn down any orders, so it was not much use complaining.

“And also,” Bradford looked around as if he wanted to make sure that no one was listening. “She’s asked that you try out your psionic powers. See what you can use them for. Just don’t try anything stupid.” With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Nico to join his squad.

“You are wearing the Archangel Armour?” Jason asked while handing over Nico’s plasma sniper rifle. Nico took it and slinged it around his back. The armour was certainly lighter than he remembered for he could move his limbs unhindered. “Yup. Guess they don’t know I have acrophobia.”

Jason frowned as he helped him to secure his slipping cuirass. “Fear of flying?”

“Heights,” corrected Nico.

“So, when we were up in the air last night, you were scared?”

“A little,” Nico admitted. A familiar shy smile crept into his face as he recalled that wonderful moment. “But you were with me, so I was not scared.”

Jason’s face lit up when he heard Nico’s last few words. Embracing Nico, he lifted his chin and kissed him fully on the mouth, taking his breath away. “You’ll be fine without me. You’ll be my guardian angel, watching and protecting me from above.”

Beckendorf cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to ruin your moment, guys, but we really have to go now.”

Jason slinged his Alloy Cannon over his shoulder. Nico raised his head to see the confidence in Jason’s lightning blue eyes. There was something unexplainably majestic in the way he looked that moment, Nico simply could not find the words to properly describe it. “Let’s roll.”

* * *

  
Tokyo was every bit as vibrant and colourful as Nico had always imagined it to be. The dazzling lights glared jarringly bright, forcing Nico to narrow his eyes. In contrast, the rooftop construction site the Skyranger had landed on was shadowy and foreboding, a very uninviting mission site. Nico was slightly startled when a mouse scurried across the floor and paused to look at the five heavily armoured soldiers and the hulking juggernaut with them. It was unimpressed and fled into a broken gutter and disappeared.

  
At first glance, one would dismiss the site as an abandoned construction project. It certainly looked the part, with piles of bricks and stacks of plywood littering the site. The equipment and materials were covered with a thick layer of dust and grime. Yet, Nico knew that this place had recently been visited, there were many footprints freshly imprinted in the dust. Primal instincts urged him to be on his guard. This place was not what it seemed to be.

  
As his squadmates made their way to the rendezvous point, Nico took a glance over the side of the building. He felt a little ill as he gazed down upon the streets over a thousand feet below him. The streets were desolate and silent without a single car or pedestrian. Sure, it was just past midnight but this was Tokyo, a bustling metropolis of 13 million people. Then again, who would want to go out when aliens could appear at any random moment to abduct people off the streets? There was something eerie about the city being bright and colourful but filled with a deathly silence. It was as though the city was in anticipation of something ominous.

“Hey,” Jason pulled Nico back from the edge. He frowned when he noticed that the colour had drained from Nico’s face. “You look pretty sick.”

“Vertigo,” gasped Nico. “Really not a fan of heights.”

“A shame,” Kane muttered. “Because we kind of need you to get up there and spot for us.”

Jason turned back toward Nico, his worried glance concealed by his helmet visor. “Will you be okay?”

Nico nodded. He took a step back before activating his armour’s propulsion system. It was a strange feeling, being so close to the ground but not actually touching it. Dr. Vahlen had replaced the clunky buttons with a more functional interactive screen which he decided to test out. It took a few seconds for Nico to cry out in alarm as he shot up into the sky with breakneck speed before jerking to an abrupt halt some 25 feet in the air. Nico felt a bit dizzy when he saw how high he was but throwing up in his helmet was not an option. He saw Jason waving from down below. He waved back.

“See anything?”

A faint glow in the distance snagged his attention. He squinted before peering through his telescopic sight. There was a small shed at the very end of the construction site, close to the edge, with a dim orange light exiting its only window. He could make out a shadowy figure pacing back and forth behind the grimy window. “Someone’s in that shed over there. North-east of our position.”

“Shh!” Valdez raised his right arm and everyone stopped dead in their tracks, guns drawn. “I heard something.”

“A rat?”

“Shut up!” A metallic clang reverberated throughout the area, followed by another, and another. This was no rat. This was someone ascending the fire escape stairwell. Just as a head popped up over the edge of the building several feet away from Delta Squad, a door slammed open to reveal a very unusual group of men.

If not for the breastplates that they wore over their business suits, one might have dismissed them for a stock of businessmen who had one too many drinks. However, the laser weaponry they wielded said otherwise as did their appearance. All of them had bandannas concealing their lower face. Nico had met quite a few Japanese people working in XCOM, so he had a rough idea of what the average Japanese citizen looked like. These men did not fit the bill at all. In fact, there was something particularly inhuman about them. Their eyes were deeply sunken in, their wrinkles deep and many, and there was an obvious sickly greenish tinge to their skin. Only then, did he notice the sockets embedded throughout their arms.

For a fleeting second, Delta Squad just stood there, staring at the group of men that surrounded them, without anyone moving a muscle. Nico noticed one of the men reaching for the grenade that hung by his side. Within a heartbeat, Nico unslinged his rifle, aimed it at the man and with a single bolt of plasma, gave him an encephalectomy.

“Take cover!” With the exception of Valdez who delivered a straight-up bone crushing punch to the nearest EXALT operative, Delta Squad raced to take cover under a hail of withering laser blasts. A ferocious firefight broke out with laser beams and plasma bolts lighting up the battlefield. Nico yelped when a laser beam narrowly missed his head only to have another strike him in the chest. The armour held but it felt like he had been kicked in the chest by a horse.

It took a little too long for Nico to spot one of the EXALT operatives, a large brute of a man, shouldering a rocket launcher and aiming it at the oblivious Beauregard. There was simply no time for him to shout out a warning to her. Then, something clicked in Nico’s head. He straightened his back as the thought suddenly struck him: he held a primal power that no one else on this battlefield had, and it was time to use it. His eyes blazed a vivid lilac. Time seemed to grind to a halt as an otherworldly orb of energy formed in the palm of his hand. A strange feeling of peace and calm descended upon him, even in the heat of battle. He quietly extended his hand toward his unfortunate target. “Your nightmare is just beginning.”

The exact moment Nico held out his hand, the rocket guy let his weapon fall to the ground with an audible thud. The man’s orange bandanna was stained with a single dot of blood. The scarlet stain rapidly grew larger and larger as blood began to gush out of his nose in buckets. Ignoring his friends’ frantic cries to stay in cover, the wailing man stumbled and staggered out of cover only to be immediately dispatched by an unsympathetic Beckendorf.

“Mon dieu! Do that again!”

“I...I can’t!” The calm and serenity that Nico had been feeling seemed to have vanished. He flicked his fingers again and again, hoping to produce another energy orb but nothing came of it.

“Oh, god damn it! How convenient! Just shoot them anyway!”

A generous serving of explosives was promptly dished out to the enemy as Valdez lobbed a succession of grenades into the enemy’s positions, destroying their cover and leaving them right in the squad’s sights. The sole survivor decided to make a run for it when Nico suddenly felt his eyes glowing once more. “You should have stayed home.” The man fell onto his knees, let out a strangled cry as his mouth filled with blood, convulsing before falling still. Jason checked his pulse. He was dead.

“Remind me never to piss you off ever again,” Kane whispered shakily.

Nico slowly descended back onto the ground. He felt somewhat drained and he nearly stumbled if not for Jason’s firm hold on his arm. The air was thinning inside his helmet. Jason noticed him fumbling in his attempt at removing his helmet, so he helped him. Nico took two or three deep breaths, and blinked his eyes a few times as the cool night air filled his lungs once again. “You okay?” Jason’s eyes were filled with concern as he laid his hands on Nico’s slumped shoulders. “Yeah. Just a little tired,” Nico yawned.

“You were pretty awesome.”

“I was?”

“You were.”

“...I need coffee.”

“Guys, the light in the shed, it’s out!” The orange light had been extinguished but the door had remained tightly shut as far as before. Whoever had been inside had probably heard the battle outside. Nico drew his pistol and joined Jason and the rest of the squad in advancing toward the shed in a slow stalk. The sound of feet dragging caused him to prick up his ears. The squad took their positions on either side of the door. Beauregard wordlessly signalled to Beckendorf that he lead the charge. He nodded his head and pushed open the door. A single bolt of plasma flew through the doorway; missing his head by a mere inch.

“Jackson, you idiot! You simply couldn’t just call out to me, could you?!”

“Clarisse?” Beauregard poked her head into the shed. “Est-ce vous?”

“Silena!” A big tall brunette rushed out to give her a bear-hug. Nico recalled seeing her only once a few months back, but they had not actually met each other. “I thought they were sending that enculé, Jackson, to pick me up. How have you been, old friend?”

The two of them chatted enthusiastically as the squad began making back their way to the Skyranger. Nico paused to look at the bloody corpse of the fleeing man he had killed. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, unmoving. They seemed fixed in a hypnotic gaze, staring at the night sky. Kneeling down, Nico closed his eyes. When he stood back up, he felt Jason’s eyes focusing on him very intently. He knew Jason had a lot of questions in his mind, but he stayed silent.

A piercing scream drew their attention. Quickly, they turned to find the cursing Clarisse being held in a stranglehold by a bloodied EXALT operative; he held a box cutter at her throat. His eyes darted wildly as he exasperatedly threatened in fluent English, “I will cut her. Put your guns down or I will cut her.”

Nico’s eyes flashed a brilliant purple.

* * *

  
“Can’t sleep?” Jason had drifted off to sleep with Nico in his protective embrace, only to wake up an hour later to find Nico with his eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Nico just snuggled up closer to Jason, pulling the blankets tighter around them.

“I keep thinking of the men I killed today.”

Jason reached his hand up to his face and tenderly stroked Nico’s cheek. “You feel guilty?”

Nico nodded. “It’s one thing to kill aliens, but, to kill another man, it’s not the same.”

“They were trying to kill us.”

“It’s not just that.” Nico brushed Jason’s hand away. “The last one, you saw how he looked. He was afraid; afraid of me.”

“You saved Clarisse’s life. And you didn’t kill...”

Nico shook his head. “I did. I don’t know how I did it, but I made him fear me. That’s why he was so afraid of all of us. That’s why – he threw himself off the edge.” He swallowed a lump down his throat when he recalled the final screams of the man. “You know that quote, ‘he who fights monsters, let him beware lest he becomes a monster himself’? I’m starting to wonder how close am I to crossing the line? Or have I crossed the line already? How different am I from the aliens? What have I become?”

Jason brushed back Nico's hair and swept his bangs from off his brow. “Nico, I know you. I know you hate doing what you don’t want to do. But what you did...you did without a say in the matter, in the name of humanity’s survival. Who you are, and who you wish to be to survive this war, are two very different things. You knew you had to do it, you had a reason.”

Jason wrapped his arms around him and held Nico against himself. Smelling him and feeling him, Nico surrendered and wrapped his arms around him. He cried on Jason’s broad shoulder. “I swear, once this war is over, I’m taking you with me someplace no one can find us, where we can be alone, far away from the world. I’ll build us a house if I have to, just for the two of us.”

Nico wiped his tears with his hand and smiled. “Plus a puppy.”

“Plus a puppy. We’ll call her Mrs. O’Leary the Second.” Jason kissed Nico on the nose. “You remember the promise that I made after our first mission?”

“Yeah, that we will get out of this war together.”

“I will keep that promise. Also, I am making a new one.” He clasped Nico’s hand and gently placed it over his heart. “Once this war is over, I will dedicate the rest of my life to make you happy. If anything ever happens to us, I will wait for you.”

“For how long?”

Jason took Nico’s hand and brought it to his mouth to grant it a soothing kiss. “Till the end of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are approaching the finale rather quickly. They grow up so fast. *Sobs* Comments, suggestions and kudos are always welcomed.


	16. Tremble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason noticed that Nico had stayed silent in the wake of this horrifying discovery, his face devoid of emotion. “What’s wrong?”
> 
> Nico’s eyes fell upon him; they were calm but sad, and full of seriousness. “The war, it draws to a close.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13 October 2015. Jason and Nico have a game of hide-and-seek to pass the time. XCOM has a breathing period for now.

“Nico! Nico! Where are you? Not funny, man!”

  
Nico wore an amused smile as he watched Jason haplessly running around the field like a headless chicken, looking for him. He had to resort to biting his tongue to stifle a laugh when Jason stopped to creep up toward a haystack where he was supposed to be hiding in, which he was not. On the contrary, he was enjoying the show from the sturdy bough of a cedar tree, concealing himself in the dark shadows that the canopy of leaves offered.

  
Jason crouched before throwing himself into the haystack with a cry of “Caught you!” Nico simply had to facepalm himself when Jason emerged with stalks of hay interlaced with his blonde locks of hair, his face a mixture of dismay and disappointment. Nico glanced at his watch. Three minutes had passed since he had hidden himself from Jason. If Jason was incapable of finding him within the next two minutes, Jason would lose the round and his French fries rations was Nico’s for the taking. The romantic that Jason was had simply asked for a kiss if he won, but the scales were starting to tilt in Nico’s favour and Nico knew it.

  
The past few weeks of October had been kind to the Earth for things had been relatively uneventful; uneventful being there had only been one alien abduction attempt in Egypt, two shooting downs of alien scout ships, an Abductor Ship landing and the destruction of the EXALT HQ at the hands of Beta Squad. Despite losing their base, the aliens did not seem to be letting up on their attempts to bring the world to its knees. The possibility that orders were being relayed to the aliens from elsewhere was being floated around in the R&D unit.

  
A distant rumbling of thunder made Nico turn his eyes to the horizon. A dark blanket of clouds was slowly making its way to Canada. Nico took another glance at his watch. Another minute had passed. One more minute and sweet victory would be his, along with Jason’s fries. If not for the need to maintain absolute silence, he would probably let his dramatic side take hold before throwing his head back and letting out an evil laugh. Kane had been treating him less brusquely ever since he did that with his glowing eyes. For now though, he had to content himself with a quiet snicker. He turned his head to see whether Jason was throwing himself into another haystack yet. Jason was not there. With his knees gripping the branch, Nico sat up to scan the area for signs of his boyfriend. The fields were empty as was the barn. Where the hell had he gone? Nico suddenly felt a firm chin resting on his shoulder. “Found you.”

  
“Damn it, Jason! You scared me.” Nico tilted his head to gaze into Jason’s captivating blue eyes. Jason’s expression was so puppy-like with his bright eyes and a deeply kissable smile, Nico was not sure whether it was intentional or not. He did however run his fingers through Jason’s cropped hair, earning himself a nuzzled neck.

“Sorry,” Jason apologised cheerfully. “Do I get my prize now?”

Nico frowned. “You know, gene-mods are cheating, right?”

“Oh, come on!”

“Now that I think about it, this whole game is rigged! You knew where I was the whole time, didn’t you?” Nico shot an accusing glare at his boyfriend. While his voice was of an angry tone, Jason knew Nico well enough to see that his melting chocolate eyes were teasing him as he continued, “Cheaters don’t deserve prizes!”

Jason whimpered unhappily as he wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest to pull him closer. Nico shuddered when he felt Jason’s warm lips nuzzling at his ear. “I’m sorry,” whispered Jason in a small, sad voice. Nico felt his heart crumbling inside him when he heard the dejection in his boyfriend’s words and saw how miserable Jason looked. He felt that if he ever made Jason cry, he would willingly dig a grave and throw himself into it.

“But a deal’s a deal.” Nico sighed as he gave in to Jason’s heartwrenching whines. Jason had to lower his head to allow Nico to take the lead on the kiss. The feeling of their shared breaths caused an ineffable sense of warmth to surge through Nico, a feeling that he always enjoyed whenever Jason made love to him in the comfort of their bed. Separating his lips a little further apart, Nico grazed the slick tip of his tongue against Jason’s lower lip. Unlike Jason who was often forceful when he was the one leading the kiss, Nico was gentler, slower and took the time to appreciate the luscious lips that brushing against his.

Nico eagerly explored the wet cavern that was Jason’s mouth; the resulting wave of sensations was always something to love and remember. He felt Jason’s strong hands slipping under his black t-shirt to feel the muscles that lay beneath. Perhaps out of instinct, Jason tightened his grip around Nico. In most circumstances, Nico would have protested and wriggled his way out, but in this instance, he blushed at how possessive Jason was being. He liked it. Nico had no need to read Jason’s thoughts to know what was in his mind; Jason wanted this to go on a little longer, forever if possible. Jason let out a throaty moan as he began to return the kiss with a growing passion, a passion that Nico secretly craved.

Seconds ticked by with Nico refusing to keep track of time. He wanted this kiss to last as long as possible, but perhaps that would not be enough. The prince from Sleeping Beauty would have turned green with envy had he seen Jason and Nico that very moment. Jason’s lips were smooth and dreamy, capable of putting any Revlon model to shame. Nico had never kissed anyone else’s lips before, but somehow, he knew no one could compare to how sweet Jason’s pair of lips was. Nothing could compare to the kiss of one’s true love, Nico thought to himself.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Nico finally broke the kiss to gaze into Jason’s eyes. Jason was still descending from his cloud nine, his eyes dreamy, faraway. The feelings that he had been experiencing for the past few minutes could never be induced by any drug available on the planet. He bent in for another kiss but Nico turned his face away, resulting in a peck on his cheek instead. “One kiss. That was our deal,” Nico sternly reminded.

“You could always sweeten the deal,” murmured Jason with a seductive wink. His hot orange breathe tickled Nico’s ear.

“Maybe. Now, be a good boy and help me get down from here.”

Jason chuckled before throwing himself to the ground and landing on his two feet with effortless ease. There was a good reason behind why no one wanted to play basketball with Jason around. Nico had jokingly suggested that Jason join the NBA after the war, every team would pay big bucks to have him on their side.

“You want a ladder or what?”

“Catch me if you can.” Nico smirked as he threw himself off the branch.

If Jason had failed to catch him, Nico would certainly have spent several days in the infirmary with a broken back or a split open skull. However, his trust in Jason’s lightning reflexes and enhanced physical abilities was not misplaced. Jason’s rapid reaction time kicked into action and he leapt upward to grab Nico while he was still falling through the air. They landed on ground with a heavy thud and rolled across the dry grass, coming to a stop against a fence. Jason groaned before realising that Nico was suffocating under him.

“In the future, just ask me to get a ladder, okay?” He checked to see Nico had taken any cuts or scratches during impact but Nico was perfectly unscathed. Other than a harmless nick on his elbow, Jason too had been left untouched.

Nico shrugged. “What fun is that?”

“You could have gotten hurt,” chided Jason.

“Would you ever allow that to happen to me?”

“Never.”

Jason got to his feet and helped Nico up. He brushed off the hay and dirt that stubbornly clung onto their clothes before carefully pulling the stalks from between Nico’s locks of hair. Taking hold of Nico’s hand, he pulled him closer so that they touched nose to nose. “You want to go for a ride?”

“On what?” Nico’s eyes glittered with a hint of desire; his mouth formed an impish smile.

“You decide.”

Before Nico could respond, a violent tremor suddenly shook the ground, causing the trees to sway and the horses whinnying in panic. Immediately, memories of the alien attack on the base surged through Nico’s mind, but the skies were completely empty except for a few passing birds. The tremor only lasted for a few seconds before everything paused for a sudden stillness. Could it have been just an ordinary earthquake, Nico wondered to himself. He turned to face Jason, only to find that the colour had drained from his face. “It came from under us,” he quietly muttered. Nico’s eyes widened as realisation dawned on him that Jason was correct. Without a word more, they raced toward the access tunnel and entered the base.

* * *

  
“Valdez! What’s up?” Jason and Nico ran up to their colleague who stood pensively watching the base personnel scurrying around to get to their posts. Alarms blared wildly as Bradford angrily called for the pilots to scramble into their interceptors. Something big had obviously just happened.

  
“You know that thing we grabbed from the alien base?” Valdez asked. “R&D hooked it up with a satellite dish and just now, it started going loco. Yeah, so a mini-earthquake just happened. But it actually started working. We picked up a cloaked ship on our scanners flying over Argentina. The AF is trying to bring it down now.”

  
Right on cue, Bradford declared that the ship had been shot down and that Beta Squad was to grab their gear and assemble in the Hangar. He did not say it out aloud but Nico was rather disappointed that his squad was not going into the action. There must have been a reason why the aliens reserved this cloaking technology specifically to hide this ship. Perhaps its contents were of utmost importance to them. It would have been rather interesting to discover for himself what they were. Valdez excused himself and took his leave, leaving Nico alone with Jason.

“You look sad.”

Nico smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Not sad. Just a little curious what’s inside the ship.”

“Cthulhu.”

“Roar.” Nico’s eyes flashed a brilliant purple as he brought his hands to his mouth and wriggled his ‘tentacle’ fingers.

Jason laughed before ruffling Nico’s messy hair with his chin. “You make an adorable monster. Take my soul, you cute abomination of hell!” Nico took Jason’s hand, kissed it and nibbled on his knuckles playfully.

“You know, I heard that they might be planning something special for this Halloween. A costume party or something.”

“Oh?” Nico raised his brow. “And you’re planning to go as?”

“Captain America, duh! And you can go as Cthulhu!”

“Why the fuck would I go as Cthulhu of all things?!”

Jason leaned in close as if to whisper in Nico’s ear. Nico leaned in to hear what he had to say. “Because I know you really enjoy tentacles.”

Nico blinked a few times, his face emotionless. Slowly but surely, a small smile grew on his face. Jason raised his eyebrows up and down several times as he turned to expose his shoulder to Nico. Nico shook his head and sighed. Then, he punched it.

* * *

  
“And then, that son of a bitch held his switchblade at my throat and called me a whole lot of non-PC words. It’s for the best that I don’t repeat them.”

Nico listened wide-eyed as Beckendorf related to the rest of the squad how he had been held at knifepoint by a gang of neo-Nazis back in Germany. Jason offered him another fry which he took before he asked, “What were you thinking right then?”

Beckendorf shook his head and laughed. “Quite a few things actually. But the main problem I had with them was how they called me an ‘inverted commas’ monkey foreigner. My family has been living in Germany since the late 1600s. I probably have lived there even longer than any of those idiotic imbeciles have been alive.”

“So, you shot them?” Jason asked.

“Holy shit, no! I just disarmed him, beat up all of them and let the BPOL handle it. Seriously, is the American solution to everything is just to shoot it?”

“It works for the aliens.”

“Oh, Gott. I’m not surprised.”

“Guys, guys!” Kane came running into the cafeteria, her eyes were huge and her mouth was wide open as though she had run into a ghost. “Beta Squad is back, but...you should probably take a look.”

“What do you think is going on?” Nico asked Jason as they ran toward the stairs that lead to the hangar.

“She definitely wasn’t happy about it, so I don’t think it must have been a good thing. But we’ll have to see for ourselves,” said Jason.

The hangar was filled with base personnel and soldiers, helping to unload the recovered artefacts of the battle and body bags. Nico gasped when he noticed five yellow body bags laying on the ground outside the Skyranger. Beta Squad had been effectively annihilated. Five brave soldiers had lost their lives. The sole survivor of the squad, a sturdy New Zealander sat on the ground, holding his head in his hands, weeping bitterly. Bradford was beside him, trying to console him and get him back onto his feet. “What happened?” Nico whispered to Jason, not expecting to get an answer. Jason too was dumbfounded; no one could anticipate that this victory could come at such a cost. What exactly had been in that ship?

The weeping man raised his head slowly, tears streaming down from his bloodshot reddened eyes and turned to shoot a terrified gaze at Nico. Nico watched shocked as he raised his bloodied finger at his direction. “Him...It was just like him,” the man stuttered. “With mind powers and...It was so sudden...It was the only one left...And then...Like a storm...Oh God!” Bradford patted the hysterical man on his back and assured him that he would receive all the help that he needed. Nico felt a cold bead of sweat trickling down his forehead when he felt eyes turning on him and he felt their fear and suspicion. Jason’s strong hand took hold of Nico’s. Jason not only gave them warning looks but also shot daggers at them. There was something inherently intimidating about a six-foot soldier giving death glares, everyone immediately looked away and the crowd began dissipating.

“Sir! What should we do with this?”

Jason turned his head to see four heavyset engineers struggling to lift an intriguing object out of the Skyranger and onto the Hangar floor. He could only describe it as a pedestal of some kind which had been designed in the shape of a crescent. Hovering just above it was a shimmering globe of water, or at least, what appeared to be water. A vivid violet glow was radiated by it and at the core of this globe was a swirling orb of energy, similar to the ones that Nico could create. An otherworldly aura seemed to emanate from it, an aura that simply felt powerful, overwhelming even, that made Jason suddenly feel a little ill and strangely exhausted.

“Recovered from a cloaked ship, and guarded by the most powerful being we’ve ever encountered, what do you think it is?” Dr. Vahlen and XCOM’s Chief Engineer, Dr. Raymond Shen stood within earshot of Jason. They too seemed slightly drained as evidenced by their paled faces.

“An object of immense power,” answered Dr. Vahlen. “Think of all we could do if we unlocked its secrets.”

“A dangerous sentiment, doctor.”

Jason turned to leave with Nico when he suddenly realised, Nico’s hand was no longer in his. He had not even realised he was no longer by his side. He turned around, looking for him before stopping dead in his tracks. Somehow, Nico had slipped past the watchful eyes of Bradford and stood over the device, his eyes had taken on a bright violet hue. As he laid his hands on the globe, the warm air of the Hangar suddenly seemed to take on a deathly cold, a cold which could chill to the bone. Everyone watched him dumbstruck, in a combination of fear and fascination. The water began churning violently and Nico closed his eyes, letting the device take hold of him.

Jason lunged at his boyfriend, grabbed his shoulders and used all of the strength in his body to pull him away from the device. Instantly, the surrounding temperature returned to normal and the globe of water returned to its initial state, swirling calmly as though nothing had happened. “Secure that thing! Seal it away! Just get it out of here!” Bradford shouted at the engineers and scientists around him. A lead container was scrambled over to house the device before being carted away to the lab.

“Nico, what happened?” Jason cradled Nico gently in his arms. The violet glow of his Nico’s eyes dissipated slowly as he breathed heavily. A sheen of cold sweat covered his forehead, matting his unkempt, black hair to his olive skin. Jason dabbed Nico’s forehead with a handkerchief before planting a soothing kiss on his lips. With both hands, Nico grabbed Jason’s shirt, clinging to him before lifting his head to look directly at his face. In a small shaky voice, he whispered, “Something was talking to me. I don’t know how to explain but it was...talking to me.”

“What did it say?”

“I could only hear the beginning, something about ‘at long last’.”

“This thing, it spoke in English?” asked Jason.

“No.” Nico shook his head as he struggled to recall. “But I knew what it said. I’m just not sure how I knew.”

Bradford helped them up and saw to it that they were both unhurt. He regarded Nico with genuine concern and a level of curiosity. “The Commander wishes to have a specialised facility to house this...device,” he gestured toward the direction of the lab. “What happens afterward will be up to the Commander’s own discretion. Go back to your quarters, take a break, we’ll call you if we need you.”

Jason wrapped his left arm around Nico’s shoulders and helped him make his way back to the cafeteria. Valdez, Beauregard and Beckendorf had not left the table and were listening attentively to Kane’s narrative of what had happened. Just as Jason had sat Nico down and was helping to feed him his bowl of mushroom soup, the room started shaking once more. A powerful tremor shook the earth, followed by another, and a third. “What the hell?” A light came crashing down, its fluorescent bulb smashed into the floor, scattering shards of glass. Jason instinctively threw his body over Nico’s to shield him from the falling pieces of ceiling plaster and electrical wiring. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it ended. The lights stopped swaying and everyone broke into a frenzied discussion of what just happened.

“Are you hurt?” Jason swept the dust and paint flakes off Nico’s hair before checking for signs of injury on Nico. He was slightly shaken but he was not hurt. Today was most certainly an eventful day.

Someone flipped on the televisions in the cafeteria. The usual late night TV programmes had been be replaced by the emergency broadcast feed. There were audible gasps of shock among those gathered in the cafeteria. Anderson Cooper, his eyes wide-open with shock and his hands shaking, was on air; behind him was a live feed of a gigantic alien vessel, hovering just above the sea. Jason had seen how huge the alien battleships could be but this ship could be stuffed with all the world’s aircraft carriers and still have space for every single airliner. Nothing that XCOM could throw at it would make a dent in it.

“This just in, the National Seismological Centre has confirmed that tonight’s seismic activity originated directly beneath what experts have been calling the alien mothership. Local witnesses say that this alien vessel appeared over the coast of Brazil at 11.37 p.m. local time...”

“How in God’s name are we going to take down that thing?” Beauregard gasped.

Jason noticed that Nico had stayed silent in the wake of this horrifying discovery, his face devoid of emotion. “What’s wrong?”

Nico’s eyes fell upon him; they were calm but sad, and full of seriousness. “The war, it's coming to an end.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and suggestions are always warmly accepted. :D


	17. Fear and Despair, Love and Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I never loved you. You are nothing more than a fucking queer and a pussy.” Jason’s normally warm and loving eyes were now dark and emotionless as he rained blows down upon Nico without mercy. His shoulder slammed into Nico’s chest, resulting in blood gargling in Nico’s mouth. “You think I loved you? You are a pathetic piece of shit. Who would want to love a fag like you?” As he sat on Nico’s stomach with both hands around his throat, he grimaced menacingly at Nico who writhed beneath him, trying to dislodge him in vain. Nico’s breaths turned into rasping sobs of pain and heartbreak as he thrashed wildly, using all his strength in an attempt at freeing himself. The more he struggled though, the tighter Jason’s grip became. Jason continued taunting him, “You think I fucked you because I loved you? Moron, I saw you had a tight ass and wanted it. You liked it, you disgusting pervert, because you are a fucking pillowbiter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27 October 2015. Delta Squad is deployed to capture a landed alien Supply Barge in India.

“I...I couldn’t stop it! I didn’t mean to...I can’t control it!” Nico squeezed his eyes shut and pounded his clenched fists into the ground, hopelessly struggling to hold back the immense power that surged from within him. He pressed both of his hands into his forehead, screaming in agony as his head throbbed and pounded as though it was being squeezed in a steel vice. His excruciating anguish slowly turned into a determined rage and he slowly opened his eyes before letting out an ear-splitting scream of pain and rage. Immediately, the pain stopped. For a brief moment, Nico felt a slight relief. That was before he saw the scene of chaos and destruction that was set out before him.

Nico fell to his knees, his mouth gaping and his eyes clenched in a silent cry of indescribable terror and self-hatred. He had done this; he had unleashed death and destruction upon the earth. Unintentionally or not, he and his powers had brought forth the apocalypse in all its horror. A vast bustling city of millions was now nothing but a silent and desolate plain, covered in black soot, the sole remains of the city’s inhabitants. Mighty skyscrapers had been reduced to nothing but twisted towers of metal. Pitch black pillars of smoke rose in the distance, blotting out the sky.

The familiar blue sky and the yellow beaming sun that lit it up were no more. Instead, the heavens had taken on a sinister blood red hue and the sun was nothing more than a distant white that glowed coldly. No amount of words could describe what Nico felt that moment. In a small frightened voice, he whispered to himself, “What have I done?” A wrenched cry of tormented anguish and despair then escaped from his chest, his bitter tears streaking his face.

The sound of feet running past him broke the deathly silence. Nico immediately turned to see who it was. Valdez, Kane, Beauregard and Beckendorf were clad only in torn rags and their skin was blemished with oozing pus wounds and unsightly blistered marks. They had not seemed to notice Nico kneeling on the ground. “Guys!” called Nico. When they saw him, gasped in fear and took a step away from him. Nico saw the terror flashing across their faces. They chattered in an indecipherable tongue that barely sounded terrestrial.

As Nico forced himself up and started making his way to them, they uttered a shrill cry of alarm and turned to flee from him. The moment he threw his arm forward in a desperate plea for them to stay, all four of them burst into living pillars of flame. Their piercing cries and wails of agony caused every bone in Nico’s body to freeze in terror. In their final death throes, they crumpled to the ground and died screaming. The sight of his friends’ smoking bodies made Nico violently sick and he threw up. He stumbled backward when he realised his puke was as black as tar and smelt like death.

Suddenly, the scene changed – he was back in his family home, the place where he had spent the happier times of his childhood. He shuddered with realisation that he was seated at the dining table with his family. A pot of his mother’s mouth-watering potato stew sat in the middle of the table. His father, his mother and Bianca all smiled at him. For a brief moment, his eyes lit up with the most radiant smile when he saw his mother and sister were alive and well. However, the smile was swept from his face when he noted that there was something false in their smile; there was nothing natural or warm about it. Despair engulfed Nico when he realised that this was not at all real. He had attended both his mother’s and Bianca’s funeral and shed many tears at both. This was an illusion.

“You aren’t real, are you?” Nico’s brow furrowed as he glared at the illusions that were posing as his family. His mother let out a mocking, silvery laugh as did his father and Bianca. Their eyes never once blinked as they threw their heads back and continued laughing hysterically. Without even looking down, they reached for their dinner knives before placing them across their throats. Nico looked away in the nick of time as he heard the bloodcurdling, hoarse sound of throats being slit. He may have had emptied his stomach earlier, but he felt violently ill once more.

“Why aren’t you eating your stew, Nico?” Unfortunately, without thinking, he raised his head turned to see who the asker was. His felt his stomach knotting into ribbons when he gazed on the disfigured faces of his parents and Bianca. Blood still gushed out from their slashed throats and their eyes were just empty bloody sockets. Their fingers were wet and sticky with blood as their eyeballs turned to stare at him from his plate. They continued their devilish laughter in between coughs and the white tablecloth was slowly dyed red with blood.

It started off as a harmless spark but with each passing second, the fuming fury that was building inside of Nico finally burst into a raging inferno. He could no longer stomach seeing these phantoms desecrate the cherished memories of his family. His eyes blazed a blinding violet; he was seething with intense anger. The laughter seemed to die down when the table began rattling violently as did the entire house. Nico clenched his teeth and gritted his teeth before ripping the whole place into shreds. The apparitions let out a piercing scream before vanishing into thin air as Nico launched a blast of energy at them. With their expulsion, Nico finally started to calm down. Then, a punch slammed into his jaw.

Nico was suddenly transported outside a burnt-out barnyard. He instantly recognised it as the entrance to XCOM’s HQ. He had little time to think though as a fist slammed into his cheek. Despite nearly stumbling to the ground, he kept his own two feet anchored to the ground, as Jason had advised him to. His assailant raised his other hand to strike but this time around, Nico blocked the blow to his head and counter-attacked with an uppercut and an elbow to the throat.

The darkness shrouded his assailant’s face, but Nico was not exactly in the position to wonder who he was. His attempt to finish off the assailant with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head was foiled when the assailant caught his leg and the rest of the body in midair and forcefully slammed him down onto the ground. Nico howled in agony as pain surged through his twisted limb. The assailant wasted no time in leaping onto the vulnerable Nico and rained blow after blow onto his face. Shock filled his face as the sun exposed the identity of his assailant. “Jason?”

“I never loved you. You are nothing more than a fucking queer and a pussy.” Jason’s normally warm and loving eyes were now dark and emotionless as he rained blows down upon Nico without mercy. His shoulder slammed into Nico’s chest, resulting in blood gargling in Nico’s mouth. “You think I loved you? You are a pathetic piece of shit. Who would want to love a fag like you?” As he sat on Nico’s stomach with both hands around his throat, he grimaced menacingly at Nico who writhed beneath him, trying to dislodge him in vain. Nico’s breaths turned into rasping sobs of pain and heartbreak as he thrashed wildly, using all his strength in an attempt at freeing himself. The more he struggled though, the tighter Jason’s grip became. Jason continued taunting him, “You think I fucked you because I loved you? Moron, I saw you had a tight ass and wanted it. You liked it, you disgusting pervert, because you are a fucking pillowbiter.”

How could the normally sweet and caring Jason do this to him, Nico thought to himself. Never had he expected to have his heart broken into a million pieces by Jason. His senses were fading away. His vision blurred and his ears rang. Darkness started to shroud his vision. In the midst of his brutal beatdown, he heard a distant voice, desperately calling for him. It was like a distant voice calling out to him from an unknown location.  “Nico!” Nico knew that voice. It was a voice he knew that could soothe and comfort him at any given time. It was Jason’s. Jason was in pain. That instant, he knew: that the person attacking him was not Jason. This was nothing more than another apparition, just like the ones before. And like the ones before, Nico was not going to let this one get away, let alone live.

The faux Jason’s nefarious smile slipped away when Nico’s eyes shot open, they glowed once more. With a sudden burst of strength, Nico reached out for a sharp rock that laid near him and smashed it into faux Jason’s nose, finally breaking the stranglehold on him. “You are not Jason!” screamed Nico as he headbutted in his nose, now bloodied and broken. “I know Jason! I fight beside Jason!” Faux Jason tried to rise but Nico would have none of it, kicking him back down and landing right in the middle of his chest, breaking several ribs with a resonant crunch. “I gave myself to Jason! I would die for Jason!” Nico gave faux Jason a swift kick to the chin and he finally fell flat on the ground. Nico stood over the near-defeated phantom and stepped on his head with his right foot. “I love Jason!” With those final words, he crushed faux Jason’s head in.

Nico’s eyes shot open to be blinded by an intense violet light. He was caught in the middle of storm of psionic energy, whirling around violently like a hurricane. All around him were his squad mates, wailing and screaming in pain and agony, writhing as they were tormented with the worst of nightmares. Jason laid flat on the ground, his eyes tear-torn and filled with hopeless despair as he called out Nico’s name while choking and sobbing uncontrollably. Even the mighty Valdez just curled up into a tight ball, burying his head between his knees. Nico knew he had to free them from their suffering quickly before their life force was snuffed out. A whispery hissing drew his attention toward the source of their pain.

While physically unintimidating, it was clear that the Ethereal’s greatest advantage laid in its incredibly powerful psionic abilities. This was the same alien that had single-handedly wiped out Beta Squad without even using a physical weapon. The towering alien’s four arms were held aloft as it sustained the vortex of suffering over Delta Squad. Nico needed to break Jason and the rest free if they were to survive. Nico’s sniper rifle laid a great distance away and the Ethereal stood between him and his gun. He did however still have his pistol holstered in his side. It hurt Nico just to move his muscles with his head throbbing violently but he wrapped his finger around the trigger. Previously, when they fired at the Ethereal, it simply halted their shots mid-air and reflected it back at them. However, it had not seemed to notice Nico aiming his plasma pistol at him. It was now or never. He pulled the trigger. The Ethereal’s scream of surprise and pain was uncannily similar to that of a human’s. With its concentration broken, the psionic storm dissipated. 

At first, no one seemed to recover from the ordeal, with everyone staying tethered to the ground, groaning and whimpering in pain. The Ethereal clutched at its wound with three of its hands, the remaining hand pointed at Nico accusingly. Beckendorf was the first to recover, shaking his head and glowering at the wounded Ethereal. Without a word more, he shouldered his rocket launcher, loaded it and let loose an explosive blast at the Ethereal. While it failed to kill the brute outright, the blast did finally stir the rest of the squad into action.

“Grenade the bastard!” screamed Kane as she grabbed her grenade, removed the safety pin and lobbed it at the Ethereal. The Ethereal had the glaring weakness of vulnerability to explosives, but its psionic strength prevented it from disintegrating easily. Nevertheless, the volley of explosives ultimately weakened the alien and just as it attempted to conjure another storm of energy, Valdez rushed up to it, determined to take revenge for his mental ordeal. He tossed the alien into the air like a basketball, smashed it into the ground and as it attempted to rise, activated his rocket boosters and sent it flying toward Nico.

As it finally perished, withering blasts of psionic energy flared out from its wounds as its robe and headdress disintegrated, leaving only its limp corpse behind. Nico would have been seriously wounded due to his proximity to the alien but at the last moment, someone lunged at him and threw him back a safe distance away from the blast.

Jason’s helmet visor had broken in half and a large crack ran along its side as he rolled across the floor with Nico safely in his arms. A shard had left a small cut on the corner of his lips. Whatever he had been put through must have been utterly traumatic, for his eyes were still bloodshot and wet. An occasional tear escaped his eyes as they darted around, terrified. Nico was curious as to what nightmares Jason had been subjected to, but this was obviously the most inappropriate time to ask.

Sheer exhaustion simply forced everyone to sink down to the floor and tend to their wounds, not caring for the alien corpses and wrecks that littered the floor. Nico gently helped him into a sitting position, leaning Jason’s back against a stack of crates. Noticing that Jason’s usually ruddy lips were starting to crack from thirst, Nico reached for his water canteen and handed it over to him. Jason would have cracked a joke or at the very least, thanked him, but his throat was utterly parched and dry after much crying. His hands shook as he tried to take a sip from the container. Nico reached over and steadied his hands, helping him lift the container to his lips and take a long drink.

With Jason occupied gulping down the water, Nico took his handkerchief and soaked it with water from his spare canteen. Jason’s once handsome face was caked with a layer of grime and his blonde hair matted with blood and sweat. He flinched as Nico dabbed at the cut, biting down hard on his lower lip. “Hey.” With his fingers, Nico lifted Jason’s chin. Their eyes met. “Keep your eyes on me,” ordered Nico.

Their eyes locked onto each other as Jason let Nico take care of him, wiping the blood and dirt from his face. Jason had always respected Nico’s quiet moments, so Nico did the same. Jason would normally have cracked a joke or started up a chat but his ordeal had left him in no condition to do so. Instead, they let their eyes do the talking.

Nico had always loved those beautiful blue eyes, sapphires surrounded by diamond. Jason’s strong but kind gaze always seemed capable of looking deep into the depths of Nico’s heart. It was always a joy to see those same eyes filled with intense amounts of love and passion as Jason made love to Nico. This time around though, Jason’s eyes were filled with fear and despair, his natural confidence had clearly been shaken. However, Jason’s feelings of terror and misery seemed to subside the more he focused on Nico.

As he finally wiped away the last smear that blemished Jason’s face, Nico pulled away only for Jason to take hold of his wrist. Nico looked up at him. Jason opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, possibly a word of thanks, but not a word escaped his mouth. He looked down, ashamed at himself for not even being able to get a word out. Nico’s hands reached up and stroked Jason’s cheek tenderly. He understood. Jason buried his head in the crook of Nico’s neck and wrapped his arms around Nico. He did not burst into tears or make a scene. He just wanted to feel and hold Nico, to have assurance that he was there, held in his arms – and Nico let him have it. 

* * *

 

Dinner that evening was a quiet affair. Barely a word was exchanged between the usually raucous soldiers as the nightmares that they had witnessed kept gnawing away at the back of their minds. Nico felt rather incomplete, naked in fact, without Jason beside him. The moment they had returned to base, Jason had climbed into their bed and slipped under the bedcovers. It was an incredibly depressing sight to see his boyfriend, normally so chatty and lively, becoming a shadow of his former self. Nico silently hoped that this change was merely temporary and not a permanent fixture.

Trying to distract himself from thinking about Jason, Nico tried reading– but to no avail. He was used to Jason looking over his shoulder and making some witty commentary about the characters’ decisions and actions. His mind simply refused to focus and he gave up after reading and rereading the same page. He tried his hand at a game of pool with some soldiers from other squads, but after a game, he lost interest and passed his pool stick to a replacement player. With a desolate sigh, Nico finally threw in the towel and returned to his and Jason’s quarters. After their night together, Jason had helped move Nico’s belongings into his own room, albeit to Bradford’s chagrin but it was not against regulations, so he had let it slide.

Jason was still snugly tucked away in bed, in foetal position facing the wall. Nico snuck into the room, listening to Jason’s heavy breathing while he cleaned himself up before slipping into his sleeping boxers. He put a finger on the light switch but hesitated for a moment as he directed his gaze to Jason’s sleeping form. Despite the fact that he was a head taller than Nico, he seemed so small and innocent as he laid curled up in bed. Nico wished with all his heart that he could do something to help Jason recover, but all his skills and powers could only do so much. He switched off the light and slipped into bed beside Jason, his chest intimately touching his back.

Just a few moments before Nico drifted away into the foggy realms of sleep, Jason turned on his side. Nico was surprised that his eyes were wide open, shining in the dim red light of the ceiling side lighting. He pressed their foreheads together, his eyes gazing intently into Nico’s and their lips nearly touching. His mouth opened and shut as though he was trying to say something. “I...” he stammered. He was trembling so violently that the bed shook beneath them. Nico took Jason’s hand and placed it over his heart, letting him feel its steady beat. Slowly, he started to calm down and lower his shoulders, taking in deep breaths the whole time.

Jason ran his long fingers through Nico’s hair. “I thought I had lost you,” he whispered. “I saw you alone and afraid. I tried to go to you, but I just...couldn’t.” He looked so downtrodden that Nico did not stop himself from placing his hand over Jason’s. “But I’m here. Safe with you.” For a brief moment, Jason’s face lit up before a sad frown swept away his radiant smile. “I don’t remember why, but we argued. I was selfish and angry.” He paused to look up at Nico with sad eyes. “I actually hit you.” If not for Jason’s seriousness, Nico might have burst out a laugh. Jason may be a strong muscle-bound soldier but he was gentle as a lamb when it came to Nico. If anything, Nico was the one who frequently punched Jason in the shoulder whenever they bickered. Nevertheless, Jason was looking incredibly distraught at his imagined action. Nico would have called Jason ridiculous, but he had first-hand experience of how real the nightmares the Ethereal induced could be. It was little wonder that the other alien species were subservient to the Ethereals.

“But you didn’t hit me. You never have.”

“But what if I do? I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself. And if you die, I...I...” Jason could only stammer when the thought of losing Nico to the Reaper plagued his mind. Hot tears escaped the corner of his eyes.

“Jason,” said Nico. His hands reached up and his palm cupped Jason’s cheeks. He ran his thumb over Jason’s tears. “You’ve already promised me that after this war, we’ll spend the rest of our lives together. I trust you on that, but sooner or later, we will have to lose each other. Life is just that way. It’s okay to be sad for a while, but you must continue your life with or without me. Remember. I’ll always be yours and you’ll always be mine.” With those words, he lowered his mouth onto Jason’s soft and silky lips, brushing against them in perfect synchrony.

Jason’s eyes immediately sprang open and he broke the kiss to take in a quick breath. The liveliness that Nico always saw in Jason’s eyes reignited as he grabbed Nico’s shoulders and shook him. “Nico, I need you to do something for me,” he said. Nico quietly wondered what Jason wanted, but he raised a brow as a signal for Jason to go on. In complete seriousness, he continued, “I want you to fuck me.”

If Jason had said that he had flown to the moon with the Pope on a tricycle, Nico would not have been so taken aback. He blinked, uncertain whether or not he had heard Jason correctly. “I want you to fuck me,” repeated Jason slowly. Nico’s eyes went wide with shock at Jason’s most unusual request. Just a moment ago, Jason had been teary-eyed and now, his eyes were filled with steely determination. Throughout their love making sessions, Jason was normally the one who took charge and Nico the one who laid down and let Jason have his way with him. Nico’s mind practically went blank as he tried to find the appropriate response, if there was one at all.

Jason was impatient and decided not to wait for Nico’s response. His hand slipped expertly into Nico’s black boxers and rubbed his still hardening length. Nico shuddered from head to toe as Jason stroke his length slowly, feeling its heat, its thickness, its smoothness. “Jason, are you sure?” Nico had finally found his voice but his breath kept hitching at the gratifying sensation. “I mean, this will be my first time doing it. I’m not sure if I can -” Jason cut him off with a kiss, his lips sliding against Nico’s. He was being completely serious, Nico realised. He really did want Nico to be inside him. It was not that Nico did not want to fuck Jason. He had many a times wondered what Jason felt when he pounded Nico into the sheets. In fact, he had visualised it in his mind before. The problem was that he was not sure whether he could do it. To imagine Jason mewling under him was not exactly an easy task.

It became pretty obvious to Jason that Nico had no idea what to do. He had no experience acting as the top before, so it would be irresponsible and unfair to blame him for it. This meant that Jason still had to take the lead. His lips trailed down Nico’s neck, nipping and tucking at the skin to leave small teeth marks. He ripped off Nico’s boxers and threw them in the corner of the room along with his own. Jason put a hand on Nico’s chest and gently pushed him down to the bed before straddling his waist. He moaned instinctively when he felt the slick tip of Nico’s arousal nudging against his hole. If not for the fact that he needed to be able to walk without a limp, he would have just lowered himself onto Nico’s cock right then.

Instead, he reached over for his handy bottle of Vaseline, now nearly empty after several nights of passion, and handed it over to Nico. Nico simply had to pause and catch a breath. This barely felt real but he knew it was. Emptying the bottle with his index finger, he spread the jelly all over his cock. By the time he was done, his cock was as hard as it could get and glistened with a coating of the slick jelly. The head of his cock was leaking precum, the result of a very sexy boyfriend on top of him with his legs on either side of his hips.

He would have helped to prepare Jason but Jason had grown tired of waiting. When he saw that Nico had been properly lubricated, he lined up his entrance with Nico’s cock. They gazed into each other’s eyes as Jason lowered himself slowly on Nico’s engorged shaft. Jason’s body was like a roaring furnace, the tense muscular ring leading into the warm silky folds that started to envelop Nico’s length. His eyes were very piercing, and his mouth opened slightly, letting out hot heavy breaths. He leaned down to wrap his hands around Nico’s back, squeezing his eyes shut and biting his lips to suppress a whimper as Nico pushed his way into him.

It certainly a lifetime experience for Nico who watched mesmerised as his cock disappeared into Jason. For no particular reason, Nico glanced at his engagement ring. For the first time, he truly paid attention to the tiny inscriptions on the side. “Mine, Yours.” As those words sank in, the realisation of why Jason wanted to do this struck him. Nico knew that Jason felt that since Nico had given himself to him so many times over, the right thing to do was to – give himself to Nico. He was Nico’s just as Nico was Jason’s.

In no time, Nico found himself completely sheathed inside Jason’s warmth. His hips pressed against the firm buns of steel that was Jason’s ass and he was balls deep, having bottomed out. Nico knew that Jason always preferred to be one in control, so he put his hands behind his head and let Jason do his thing. Jason’s face was completely overcome by the sensation of being filled with Nico and his eyes held a mischievous gaze. Slowly, but surely, he began lifting and lowering himself onto Nico’s length. Soft cries fell from his wet lips. He raised himself up, Nico’s cock almost exiting his body before slamming his body onto Nico’s. Jason braced himself on one hand, seductively stroking his own hardened cock with the other.

Jason’s slick tongue left his mouth to wet his lips as he raised himself up a bit and sank back down onto Nico’s cock. Nico let out a loud groan, his eyes becoming hooded. He ran his hand up the mountain range that was Jason’s abdomen, reaching up to pinch one of his hardened nipples. “Oh, God, it’s so good,” Jason moaned as he began a rhythm that started to knock the breath out of Nico’s lungs. He was really putting his all into it and all Nico could do was hang on for the ride. He rose up and slammed down, his grip around Nico’s cock tightening painfully. Waves of pleasure shot up Nico’s spine.

Nico could only whimper as Jason threw his head back and moaned. His cock bounced each time he lowered and raised himself. The hard length slapped against Jason’s abs every time he rose up, smearing them with his precum. Nico sat up so that he was face to face with Jason. He wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck and kissed his lips softly. Moving his right hand and wrapping it around Jason’s erection, Nico pumped it at the same speed Jason was bucking onto him. It was right then that Nico’s cock unintentionally brushed against Jason’s prostate. A scream later and Nico knew exactly just where he needed to hit to make Jason’s toes curl. Nico kissed him deeply as he mercilessly fucked him, making full use of Jason’s prostate, until he could not even kiss back because pleasure kept wracking his body. As both their climaxes approached, Jason threw his head back, his eyes tight shut, his cheeks flushed and the beads of perspiration rolling down his forehead. “Nico!” Nico shuddered at his name being screamed and Jason shot out ribbons and ribbons of cum onto their chests and abs, some even staining Nico’s chin. The indescribable sensation of Nico’s orgasm took over his body and mind in absolute ecstasy. He shuddered, flooding Jason with his release and he continued thrusting upwards as he worked his way through his high.

Jason collapsed listlessly onto Nico, drenched with sweat and dead tired. He did not even bother removing Nico’s cock which was still buried deep inside him. The room smelt of sweat and sex, Nico thought to himself. After a minute of catching his breath, Jason wrapped his muscular arms around Nico and whispered sweet nothings to him. Neither of them budged until their hearts stopped racing and returned to their usual tempos. “Thank you.” As he said this, Jason’s beautiful smile crossed his face. Any hint of sorrow or agony had fled his soul a long time ago. Nico leaned upwards and kissed Jason, so softly and tenderly that it could melt the coldest heart. That was all he could do that moment, lost in and completely surrounded by Jason.                                                                                                                

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and suggestions are always warmly accepted. :D


	18. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you, Nico di Angelo, swear to love, honour and cherish your beloved till the end of your life? Through thick or thin, rain or shine, rich or poor, will you stand by your beloved now and forever?”
> 
> As Jason and Nico clasped their hands together, Jason looked into Nico’s eyes and Nico looked back. Their gaze locked and Jason felt the surge of blood pounding into his hands and head. Nico felt himself tearing up as he gazed into those beautiful and irresistible blue eyes, full of undying love and unwavering gentleness. These were the playful eyes that he wanted to greet him every morning he woke up, these were the passionate eyes he wanted to watch him as they made love and these were the gentle eyes he wanted to see as he drifted into sleep. All the pain and suffering that he had gone through, he would never have to go through alone ever again with Jason by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 November 2015. The end of the war has come.

Jason woke up expecting to find Nico’s head resting on his chest, his body tightly wrapped in Jason’s arms. This was their morning ritual after all, followed by some light kisses and maybe a quickie in bed or in the shower. This morning was different however. Jason shot up in bed like an uncoiled spring when he realised that Nico’s side of the bed was empty, devoid of the sleeping beauty swathed in a cocoon of bedclothes. Then, he remembered. Today was the day. D-Day. He needed to be by Nico’s side ASAP.

  
After rushing through a quick shower and brushing his teeth at the speed of light, he dashed out of his room, hair uncombed and his t-shirt worn inside out and backwards. Fortunately, he at least had the decency to pull up his fly before leaving the room. His instincts told him that Nico would most likely be in the Armoury since Dr. Shen had requested him to pay a visit the previous night. He still needed to be sure though, and furthermore, his stomach was starting to growl hungrily, demanding to be fed pancakes and waffles. God, did he hate having to eat sometimes.

  
The door to the cafeteria laid on his right and he swooped in for a quick detour. Kane was already there, munching on a muffin while reading a newspaper. She waved her arm at him when she saw him sprinting him to the sandwich rack. “He’s in the Armoury with the Old Man, if you’re looking for him,” she shouted. Grabbing a ham sandwich, a tuna sandwich and an egg sandwich, he hollered his thanks to her and swiftly made his way to the Armoury, cramming the sandwiches into his mouth. He had no intention of arriving a minute too late.

* * *

  
“With the Ethereal Device safely stored within the Gollop Chamber, Dr. Vahlen believes that we can now access the psychic net or ‘hive mind’ of the Ethereals.” Jason kept a straight face when Bradford paused and turned to survey the faces in the room. Right on cue, he called two yammering soldiers before relegating them to toilet duty. Without moving his head, Jason glanced left at Nico. His face wore a serious expression. To Nico’s credit, he actually listened to each and every word of Bradford’s lengthy briefings, or at looked like he was listening. Nico noticed him staring and raised a questioning brow. Jason shot him a cheeky grin and looked away.

  
Dr. Vahlen took charge of the microphone. The dark circles around her fierce eyes testified to the many sleepless nights she had spent studying the Ethereal Device. “Our tests have shown that the device will respond to only those psionically gifted. All physical attempts at activating the device have proven unsuccessful.” She reached into her breast pocket and took out a letter. After putting on her glasses, she began reading it. “The Commander has requested that an opportunity be given to those psionically gifted to volunteer for what could possibly be a dangerous task. At 1030 hours tomorrow, The Volunteer will enter the Gollop Chamber in order to activate the device. What happens after is yet to be seen.”

  
Jason his head toward Nico, wondering what Nico thought about this. Nico was no longer beside him. He stepped forward with his head bowed and faced Dr. Vahlen. The entire hall was silent as he raised his head, before closing his eyes to take a deep breath. It took heaven and earth as well as Valdez’s firm grip to prevent Jason from running up to Nico and pulling him back into the ranks. Had he not heard that it could be dangerous? There were at least three other soldiers with psionic abilities, it was not necessary at all for Nico to volunteer. “He will not like it if you make a scene,” muttered Valdez. Jason rashly wanted to snap back but Valdez did have a point.

As though he knew what was on Jason’s mind, Nico turned to look at him, his gaze reassuring and silently telling Jason that it was his own decision to make. For a fleeting moment, they stared at each other, fighting a silent battle of wills. With a tired sigh, Jason caved in as he nodded and flashed an encouraging smile. He realised that it simply was not his place to tell Nico what to and what not to do. Nico wanted to do it, so the best thing he could possibly do was support and help him whatever his choice was. With that, Nico turned to face the waiting doctor and softly said, “I volunteer.”

* * *

  
Sure enough, as the doors parted to allow Jason into the Armoury, there stood Nico, in a conversation with Dr. Shen. A synthetic suit of armour laid on the table beside them, its design unfamiliar to Jason. “In the right hands, such as yours, Colonel, this suit is most likely the most dangerous thing I’ve ever made.” The old engineer laid his hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Good luck, son.” He then left the room, leaving Nico with Jason and his new outfit.

  
“You came.” He held up the suit as Jason approached. From the outside, it seemed to be lacking the heavier protection that the Titan Armour normally offered Jason, but the glowing purple rings that lined its spine made Jason suspect that there was more to the suit of armour than met the eye.

  
“I always do come a lot.” Jason smirked as he wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest, pressing his front against his back and rested his chin on his shoulder. Unable to punch Jason’s shoulder, Nico lightly shoved his elbow into his ribs before spinning around to face him. Nico noticed the bread crumbs that remained on the corner of Jason’s mouth and without thinking, used his thumb to brush away them away. “And I’m supposed to be the horny one,” he grumbled in jest.

  
Jason laughed but could not help feeling concerned. He had spent the entire night talking with Nico, telling him why he was fearful and worried for his safety. Nico had done his best to assure him that it was for the best, reminding him that the sooner the war brought to an end, the faster they could begin their lives together. That thought won Jason over almost immediately.

  
He had not told Nico or anybody else for that matter but he had already paid the down payment for a small colonial house in Upstate New York, just an hour’s drive from the city. He wanted this to be a surprise for Nico. Through their many post-coital chats, Jason had managed to glean an insight into what Nico’s dream home was: quiet with lots of greenery and open spaces. He had even paid close attention to what Nico focused on when they flipped through IKEA catalogues. Jason was well aware that he may be counting his chickens before they were even hatched, but he was going to do all in his power to make sure that Nico would always be happy with him. That would be his life’s mission, to keep Nico safe and happy.

“Hey.” Knowing that he had zoned out, Nico snapped his fingers in front of Jason’s eyes. Jason blinked as though some had flashed a light in his face. “Umm, I kinda zoned out there a little. Sorry,” Jason apologised. Nico frowned. “What were you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Right...I was asking you to help me put this suit on. It’s time.”

Jason nodded and Nico pulled his arms up over his head, letting Jason strip him off his shirt. They had done this many times before. A few months ago, Nico would have been shivering head to toe, feeling awkward and bashful as he exposed himself to his lover. Now, he felt no shame letting Jason ogle at his bare chest. On the contrary, he felt a little proud that only he and only he could provoke this reaction from Jason. He noticed Jason hesitating when he reached for Nico’s belt buckle. “Calm down, boy. You’re just helping me change into my armour.”

“A shame,” Jason cheekily replied. A well-deserved and expected shoulder punch followed. After some fumbling with the belt buckle, he finally managed to undo it and slid the end of the belt free. It joined Nico’s shirt in laying discarded in the corner. Peering at Nico through his eyelashes the whole time, Jason knelt down and slowly unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper. Once it was as low as it could go, Jason finally inserted his thumbs into Nico’s waistband and pulled his pants down. Nico could not resist turning red as he stood nearly stark naked in front of Jason. Jason licked his lips; Nico always did look tantalising, but this was not the time for love-making. Nico had a mission, and Jason was to see to it that he completed it.

  
Nico’s new Psi Armour bore a resemblance to a catsuit, its black and form-fitting design not too dissimilar from those outfits worn by Hugh Jackman in the X-Men Movies. It was as suspected, a more lightweight armour suit, but the moment Nico wore the upper body part of the armour, he felt a surge of psionic energy flowing through his body. The black suit clung tightly to his skin. Along his spine, the rings of psionic conductors pulsed with a dim violet glow, forming tiny lines of energy all across Nico’s lean figure.

Slowly turning in a circle, a small smile came to rest on Nico’s face. He raised his arms and turned to face Jason. “How do I look?”

“Not bad.” Jason stepped forward and laid his hands on Nico’s waist. “Quite sexy actually. You should wear this more often.” The seriousness returned to his eyes as he lifted his hands and held Nico’s head in them, with the slightest tremble. “I know you don’t want me to be scared, but I must ask again, ‘Are you sure about this?’” Nico kept quiet for a moment as Jason’s perfect blue eyes waited for his answer. He finally moved his hands and placed them over Jason’s. “I am.” Jason smiled before kissing Nico softly, gently, longingly. Without a word more, Jason took Nico’s hand and together they walked hand in hand headed for the access lifts.

* * *

  
“Colonel Grace.” Dr. Vahlen gestured toward the stairs that led to the observation room. From this point onward, Jason could go no further with Nico. Nico had to do this alone. Giving Jason’s hand an assuring squeeze, he stood at the entrance of a long hallway that led to the Gollop Chamber. This was it. This was the moment. All the blood, toil, sweat and tears that had been shed by each and every member of XCOM had led up to this. He, Nico di Angelo, was to learn what the next step that humanity had to take in order to end the threat to its survival once and for all.

  
He took a deep breath. There were tense lines about his mouth and a set resolve in his eyes. A surreal sense of calm befell him, filling him with determination. Dr. Vahlen noted that there was something noble in his face, something resolute and strong, perhaps an indicator of his strong spirit. Perhaps his mother and his sister were watching him from above. What would they say if they saw him like this? Almost immediately, he knew that they would be proud of him, no matter what he did. Nico nodded at Dr. Vahlen, a signal that he was ready for what was to come.

  
Two heavily armed base security guards took up their positions by his side. He wondered to his own amusement whether they were to protect him from any possible dangers or whether to protect the base from him. He knew the truth though: it was the latter. Were they actually capable of doing so was another matter altogether. A green light switched on, he was clear to go. Nico began walking down the hallway, with his guards keeping a respectful distance away from him. Once they reached the blast doors at the end, his security detail pulled out their security keys and unlocked their side of the doors together.

The heavy doors groaned and shuddered before parting to reveal a vast cathedral-like chamber, with pools of water flanking an aisle that led toward a platform where the Ethereal Device sat at the far end. Nico let out another deep breath. It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid, but he felt Jason’s watchful gaze settle on him. That alone calmed him down. He stepped past the doorway, letting the doors behind him slam shut. The glow of the device seemed to intensify, beckoning Nico to come hither. Straightening his back, he began his long march toward the device. With each step, all sorts of thoughts passed through his mind. Was this his purpose in life? His life experiences had inadvertently prepared him for this very moment. His promise to Bianca was about to be fulfilled. He had sacrificed much in his relatively short lifespan. He nearly paused in his march when the thought struck him. He was the culmination of humanity; the most powerful human being alive that very moment. The fate of the entire world rested on his shoulders. So did Jason’s.

With one final echoing step, he found himself standing directly facing the Ethereal Device. Jason’s eyes were on his back, he could feel it. Ever since it was first recovered, the Ethereal Device had been nibbling away at the back of his head. Focusing his eyes on the device, he held out his hands, they hovered above the orb. In all honesty, he had no idea what he had to do. He had no recollection of how he had activated the device previously. He decided to go with the flow. The Psi Armour allowed him to concentrate his psionic energy within himself. His mind cleared of all unnecessary thought. He directed his power into his fingertips and forced it to do his bidding. The smooth surface of the orb began to be covered with ripples. His head started to throb violently with a faraway ringing in his ears. ‘Spikes’ began to form from inside the orb and shot out in shards. When they pricked his fingers, Nico’s eyes blasted open with pure psionic energy.

Nico’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Visions swept through his mind, like a movie being played in fast forward. A screaming abductee being experimented on, a Floater howling in pain as cruel spiked machinery tore through its flesh, cavern-like halls of the alien mothership, the alien mothership descending upon the earth after a long journey through the dark abysses of the universe. An imposing figure of great height appeared through the fog of his mind. An ancient face adorned with an ornate headdress, a destroyer of worlds and uplifter of races, turned to look at Nico.

“At long last, you have succeeded, where we have failed.” Nico’s eyes slowly opened, immense power swirling with them. The next step had been made clear. The doors were open for them. The trials awaited them.

* * *

  
It was certainly felt odd to Jason for Bradford to be shaking his hand and giving him a pat on the back. As far as he knew, Bradford was not at all a ‘touchy’ person; on the contrary, laying a finger on him normally resulted in death glares or worse, a broken finger. Yet, here he was, shaking Jason’s hand as he wished them the best on what was likely to be his, Delta Squad’s and XCOM’s final mission. “Good luck, Grace. Make us proud.” The Central Officer surprised him by clicking his feet together and saluted him. He saluted back.

“It is my most sincere hope that you and your squad will succeed in whatever trials and tribulations await you.” Dr. Vahlen made her way through the crowd of cheering soldiers, followed by Dr. Solace. “Thanks, Doc!” Jason shot her a thumbs up and a cheerful grin. “Hey, Jason!” Dr. Solace tossed Jason a small black canister. “As requested! Good luck up there, man!”

“Thanks, dude!”

With the final goodbyes and well wishes uttered, the doors to the Skyranger finally slammed shut and its turbines roared into life. Jason took hold of Nico’s hand as he felt the familiar sensation of the ship rising upwards into the air before blasting off at top speed. Nico had been rather quiet ever since he had been in the Gollop Chamber. The visions that he had seen were apparently not kind or pleasing to the mind. His head was bowed, pensive. Something powerful and ancient apparently awaited them in the mothership, Nico had told him. It was – calling for him, like a king summoning a subject. He had also spoken of trials, which in Jason’s book, meant tonnes of enemies. Jason did not want to show it, but he felt a little afraid. No one had any idea on what could be on that ship, and this uncertainty was starting to gnaw away at the back of his head. He did keep on a brave face however, he had to for Nico. He squeezed Nico’s hand. Nico looked at him and squeezed back. They were in this together, to the bitter end.

The ride was initially spent in silence. Everyone knew how important this mission was to the squad, to XCOM and to all of humanity for that matter. This was a battle that would make it or break it for humanity. Either humanity lived or the aliens triumphed. No compromise was available. There was a good reason why everyone kept quiet, deep in thought, possibly preparing themselves physically and mentally for the fight to come. Valdez was the first to break the silence. “I know you guys aren’t religious, but I hope you guys are fine with me saying a prayer for us?” Valdez was the sole member of Delta Squad who had a semblance to a religious life, being a practising Catholic. Nonetheless, everyone bowed their heads and clasped their hands together. Divine intervention would really come into handy for that moment regardless of personal belief.

“Gracious Father, we call upon You on this blessed morning,” said Valdez. “That you provide us with the strength, courage and wisdom to carry this day to victory.” Jason and Nico both tightened their grip on each other’s hands simultaneously. “But if You will not help us, O LORD, do not help the enemy, and let us settle the scores by ourselves. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen.”

“Valdez.” Jason unbuckled his seatbelt and shot a mischievous look at his bewildered boyfriend. He walked over to the MEC Trooper and knelt before him. “This is a great favour that I ask of you but, will you marry us?”

“Of course. That is if your partner agrees with it.”

Nico blinked, stunned. Jason was aware that he had not been expecting to be married thousands of feet in the air on their way to board the alien mothership that hovered over the Coast of Brazil. The passenger hold of a troop transport aircraft was not much of a wedding venue but as Jason had helped Nico into his armour, he realised that he had to do this now. If he died or disappeared in this one final mission, at least he would end his life as Nico’s husband, not just his boyfriend or fiancé, but as his life partner. In addition, his pension would go to Nico, ensuring that he would be able to have a comfortable life after the war. Jason had never mentioned any of this to Nico, knowing that his realistic pessimism was not likely to be taken well by him.

With a sigh of surrender and a heartwarming smile, Nico finally relented and took his place beside Jason. They faced each other while Kane, Beckendorf and Beauregard helped Valdez think up of the most appropriate wedding vows.

“How long have you planned this?” Nico asked.

“About 30 minutes. I was thinking, ‘If not now, then when?’ Anything ever happened to me, I want you to –“ Jason found Nico placing a finger over his lips, silencing him. Nico lowered his head, his voice cracking as he said, “Please don’t say that. It scares me.”

Putting his index finger under Nico’s chin, Jason lifted his face. Jason’s heart sunk to the depths when he saw the tears streaming down Nico’s pale cheeks. Jason used his thumb to wipe away the tears before slowly wrapping his arms around Nico, pulling him closer. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” he said as they rocked back and forth in their embrace. “We will be getting out of this war together. I still remember that.”

“I know you do.” Jason felt Nico smiling into his chest. Nico lifted his head and closed his eyes as Jason moved aside a stray lock of black hair from his forehead, brushing his fingers against his flesh. Nico could feel the hot breath on his eye lids. Just as Nico opened his eyes, he felt a quick peck on his lips, a sweet gesture from his ever romantic lover. Valdez finally found an appropriate vow and the ceremony began in earnest.

“Forgive me but I’ll have to go straight to the point,” said Valdez. “We’ll be landing in like one, maybe two minutes. So, I’ll have to cut to the chase, bueno?” Beckendorf held out papers to give to Jason and Nico. Their colleagues had evidently managed to scrawl some last minute wedding vows. Jason wished he had done this earlier, but if Nico was fine with it, he was not complaining.

“Do you, Jason Grace, promise to uphold this most sacred of commitments this very moment, a commitment that you will fulfil till the end of your life? Do you swear and commit your life to your beloved’s life and happiness?”

With all his heart, Jason wanted to let the words, ‘I do’ slip off his tongue but when he opened his mouth, all he could do was open and close his mouth like a goldfish gasping for air. Never had he felt so nervous. He was very well aware that with every passing second, he was screwing up really badly. Jason averted Nico’s gaze, feeling guilty that he could not simply bring himself to say the words. He could only imagine Nico glaring at him or worse, tearing up at his inability. With a heavy sigh, Jason decided to refuse to let his nerves overrule his heart. He strengthened his resolve, determined to look up into Nico’s eyes and utter those two short but powerful words.

Jason pushed his head up. Nico was a mirror image of him, his mouth wide open as he gasped for air. He noticed Jason staring and immediately closed his mouth, pursing his lips. For a moment, they stared at each other blankly. Then, they saw the funny side of things and broke into giggles like mischievous schoolgirls. Nico’s sweet laughter finally made Jason straighten his back and declare without any hesitation, “I do.”

“Do you, Nico di Angelo, swear to love, honour and cherish your beloved till the end of your life? Through thick or thin, rain or shine, rich or poor, will you stand by your beloved now and forever?”

As Jason and Nico clasped their hands together, Jason looked into Nico’s eyes and Nico looked back. Their gaze locked and Jason felt the surge of blood pounding into his hands and head. Nico felt himself tearing up as he gazed into those beautiful and irresistible blue eyes, full of undying love and unwavering gentleness. These were the playful eyes that he wanted to greet him every morning he woke up, these were the passionate eyes he wanted to watch him as they made love and these were the gentle eyes he wanted to see as he drifted into sleep. All the pain and suffering that he had gone through, he would never have to go through alone ever again with Jason by his side. “I will.”

“Do you have the rings?” asked Valdez. “Because we’ll skip to the kiss if you don’t.”

Nico’s eyes widened when Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black ring box. When Jason opened the box, Nico held his breath. Laying on top of a pillow was a pair of rings, both made of the purest gold. A design of a wolf had been carved into one and an owl design into the other, Jason’s and Nico’s respective favourite animals. As Jason picked up the wolf ring, he leaned in and whispered into Nico’s ear, “With this ring, you will remember and think of me wherever you are, always.” Slowly, Nico held out his left hand. Jason turned it over and slipped the ring onto his finger. It was now Nico’s turn. He held up the owl ring and took Jason’s left hand. His eyes never parted from Jason’s as he slipped the ring onto his finger. “I will forever by your side till the end of time.”

“You may now beloved kiss your beloved, as I declare you both husband and husband!” Before Valdez had even completed his sentence, Jason had already wrapped his arms around Nico, pulling him to his chest. Nico tenderly stroked Jason’s cheek as he leaned down for the kiss. Then, their lips met in a long, deep, passionate kiss. A spark of joy raced through both of them, all their senses were kicking into overdrive mode, but neither Jason nor Nico cared. All they knew and cared about was the love that this simple gesture was overflowing with. Their love for each other was overflowing to the brim, threatening to carry them away. The Skyranger was filled with whoops and cheers of celebration as Kane, Valdez, Beauregard and Beckendorf rejoiced for their two colleagues’ happiness. In the few seconds before the Skyranger landed in the alien mothership, tears of joy freely flowed as they celebrated the union of two young lovers. As Kane put it when wiping away a tear, “The aliens could ** **** ********** ** * ***** *****.”

The Skyranger touched down on the landing bay without a hitch and the landing bay doors opened. Delta Squad charged forward, half expecting a desperate resistance or a well-prepared ambush. No bolts of plasma greeted them. Their trials awaited them beyond the door at the end of the bay. Jason beckoned the squad forward at a cautious pace. As Valdez and Kane passed him, he realised that Nico was not with them or with Beckendorf and Beauregard. Nico stood just outside the doors of the Skyranger, holding his head between his palms as though he was having a brain-melting migraine. Jason rushed up to him and shook him. “What’s wrong?”

Nico inhaled a deep breath before shaking his head. “The voice...It...It spoke to me.”

“What did it say?”

“You hear our voice, New One, now listen well...”

Jason’s entire body stiffened and the hairs on his back stood on end. “They know we are here.”

Nico pushed a finger to Jason’s lips and hushed him. The voice spoke once more; its raspy and ancient tone carried an unmistakable amount of power. “Long have we watched and waited. So many promising subjects, so many failed efforts. And now, after untold trials, the New One emerges to face the rigours of our collective. An enduring physical form, paired with an equally adept mental capacity – the rarest of traits, finally within our grasp.”

“Great, the alien boss is an exposition fairy. Just awesome,” muttered Kane as she broke the barrier of energy that led into the ship’s interior. Jason ignored her and placed his hands on Nico’s shoulders. “Will you be okay?” he asked calmly, though his large concerned eyes betrayed the truth that he truly was fearful for Nico’s safety. Nico said nothing for a moment before leaning up to give Jason a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be fine.” His eyes flashed a brilliant purple as he said, “Are we going to give them hell?” Jason dramatically cocked his Alloy Cannon, smirking amusedly. “We sure are.”

* * *

  
Nico had to admit that he felt a twinge of sympathy when the Berserker started cowering in terror, its hands shielding its face. As he and his squad had fought their way through the cavernous halls and chambers of the alien mothership, the voice in his head had been revealing the nature of the alien species that had been deployed against humanity throughout the war. From what he had learnt, they were all pawns, nothing more than disposable cannon fodder for the true mastermind behind the invasion, the voice itself. His pity however did not stop him from throwing the Berserker into panic with his psionic powers, allowing the rest of the squad to move in and dispatch it with a barrage of plasma.

“The voice, it’s still bothering you?” Jason leaned on a railing before lifting up his visor to take a drink of water. His helmet was covered with a disgusting sludge after he blasted an unsuspecting Thin Man at close range. Nico reached up with his gloved hand and wiped away the sickly green goo from Jason’s helmet. “Once in a while,” Nico answered with a frown. “Still annoying though.” Jason shook his head and laughed. “You’re sure this voice is not an imaginary friend of yours?” A shoulder punch followed, Jason still yelped jokingly despite Nico’s fist bouncing harmlessly off the solid metal armour.

For the first time in so long, Nico finally felt complete. No longer did he have to yearn for the missing piece to his life. Jason was his and he was Jason’s. He had so many things to see and do with him once the war ended. He could not even decide where to start. Perhaps he ought to pay a visit to his father, he thought to himself. It had been a very long time since he had seen him personally and it would be a good thing to reconnect. The battle for this ship was far from over though, so Nico had to lay aside his daydreaming for the victory celebrations.

“Psst! Sectopods ahead! Double bogey!” Nico shuddered at the mere mention of those nigh invulnerable metal titans. Taking down one was already hard enough, but two? Perhaps the Ethereals did have a very sick sense of humour, a Happy Murdertime for their entertainment. Right on cue, the voice spoke once more, explaining how the Sectopods had been created solely for combat and nothing else. He really wished that he could tell the voice to shut up and if possible, fuck off. There was nothing great about having a voice whisper into your ear every five minutes, narrating away like an audiobook.

Nico crept toward Beckendorf, who was huddled behind a balcony railing that overlooked a wide platform. He peeked over the railing to locate the Sectopod pair. They were facing each other, like two old ladies meeting for lunch. Heavily armoured and armed murderous old ladies, to be exact. For now, they seemed to be oblivious to Delta Squad’s presence, meaning that the squad would have some time to coordinate their attack.

Jason slid next to him before planning out a battle plan. Beckendorf would fire a rocket into their midst, allowing Valdez to rush up to them and temporarily disable their weapons system with an EMP blast, allowing at least one to be taken down in a single barrage. It certainly did seem to be a sound plan and no one objected to it. Then, a familiar, low, ominous booming sound filled the hall. The squad looked at each other, eyes widening in fear. “Take cover!” The blast of the cluster bombs whipped through the air and hit Nico squarely in the chest, throwing him to the ground and into a column. A heavy body fell on him, knocking the breath from his lungs. Everything went blank.

The ringing in Nico’s ears pained him really badly. As he struggled to open his eyes, he wondered if he had ruptured his eardrums. His head throbbed painfully; it was as though his brain was being pounded by a hammer. He tried to recall what had last happened. For a while, he was stumped, he could not even remember his name, let alone what happened. The smell of smoke and seared skin penetrated his nostrils. It was not a pleasant smell. Slowly, Nico managed to piece together who he was and what had just happened. He was Nico di Angelo, a soldier just recently subjected to a cluster bomb barrage by a pair of alien robots. Also, newly-wedded husband of Jason Grace. Jason. Nico’s eyes fluttered open.

“Nico!” Jason’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Nico’s eyes flying open. He had been in tears pumping his hands down on Nico’s rib cage for the past minute, terrified that those dark chocolate eyes would never open again. It would have been an inescapable nightmare for him if he had lost Nico a mere hour after their marriage. Tears of relief welled in his eyes as he cradled Nico’s head in his lap, wiping away the blood, sweat and dust of battle from his face. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said softly. Nico shook his head as he choked on acrid smoke and gasped his air. Despite the fact that his head still hurt like hell, he managed to whisper in reply, “I’m yours as long you’ll have me.” He smiled through the pain.

“You know, di Angelo, a word of thanks would be nice.” Nico struggled to turn his head to face Kane, prompting Jason to help him sit up. When he laid eyes on the Englishwoman, Nico could not hold back a shocked gasp. Her strong legs that had allowed her to outrun everyone else on the squad had been reduced to bloody stumps of tissue and bone. Both her legs had been torn off below the knee by the blasts. Despite the obvious agony she was undergoing, she surprisingly held back the showers of curses that she usually reserved for Beauregard as she did her best to bandage what remained of her legs.

Nico scrambled up to her side before sinking onto his knees. The realisation struck him like a lightning bolt. The reason why he had been left relatively unscathed despite the bombs was her. She was the one who had protected him from the blasts. “Kane, I...I...I am so sorry,” he managed to stutter. He tried to swallow the lumps that had formed in his throat into his churning stomach but found himself incapable of doing so. Jason stood next to him as did Beckendorf and Valdez. Valdez’s fists had been working overtime, pummelling the Sectopods into twisted wreckage.

Wincing as Beauregard tightened the bloodied bandage, Kane leaned her head back to rest on the column behind her. “Wasn’t really expecting an apology since it wasn’t your fault,” she muttered. “But I’ll just pretend you said ‘Thanks.’” She lifted her head to glare at the rest of her colleagues while pointing at Nico. “Make sure Wonderboy here makes it to the end. Would be one heck of a waste if I lost my legs for nothing.” Her voice started to slur and drift away as Beauregard injected morphine into her bloodstream. After a little more babbling, she closed her eyes and faded into a painless unconsciousness. “She’ll be fine,” Beauregard assured.

Jason helped Nico up on his feet, wiped his tears and hugged him tightly. Nico clenched his fists and his violet eyes glowed menacingly. “They will pay. Dearly.” He spoke in a voice as cold as death, sending shudders down Jason’s spine. Jason watched as he slung his rifle on his shoulder and began marching up toward the doors that led to the ship’s bridge. His face was a dark mask bearing nothing but a stony expression with his mouth tightened into a stubborn line. He did not even wait for the rest of the squad to catch up, stopping when Jason grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. “What are you doing?” asked Jason.

Nico jerked his arm away and spared his husband an annoyed look. “Finishing this.”

“Alone?”

Nico kept silent. He had no answer to that.

“Then, I’m coming with you.” He gently took hold of Nico’s hand, letting him rub his thumb over his ring. Nico looked down, feeling slightly guilty for his temper tantrum and acting like a spoilt child. He wanted to apologise but simply could not find the right words. He flinched when Jason took hold of his chin so that they could look into each other’s eyes. Nico turned his head to see Beckendorf, Beauregard and Valdez finally catching up, probably after moving Kane into the Skyranger. He turned back to face Jason, still patiently waiting for him to lead the charge. After a brief moment, he sighed, smiling. His eyes blazed up once more. “Let’s roll.”

Weapons locked and loaded, Delta Squad burst through the energy barrier doors, only to find themselves standing in the most striking and ornate room on the ship. The ceiling hung high above them, the chamber resembled an amphitheatre; a central recess was surrounded by elevated daises on both sides. The evening sunlight poured through colossal windows that ran all the way up to the vaulted ceiling’s very centre. An unobstructed view of the slowly descending evening sun and of the mighty expanse of the Atlantic was certainly nothing to scoff at. Stairs were lining the pulpits on all sides of the bridge. Just opposite the entryway occupied by Delta Squad was what could only be described as a shrine. A giant ring bordered with thick pylons towered above the rest of the room’s features. The ring glowed with streams of psionic power that flowed toward a device that Nico recognised immediately.

A figure knelt before the Ethereal Device, its back facing Delta Squad. The orb of energy that swirled above the Ethereal Device churned and thrashed in its cradle. Before Nico could even move a muscle, the voice snaked its way into the deepest part of his head once more.

“Behold the greatest failure of the Ethereal Ones… We who failed to ascend as they thought we would.”

The towering Ethereal rose and turned to face the squad while two more stepped forward to stand on the flanking pulpits. Mental images began to stream through Nico’s head. The bloody aftermath of a battle between a human military force and the aliens, with corpses littering the ground and flames blazing uncontrollably.

“We who were cast out. We who were doomed to feed on the Gift of lesser beings… as we sought to uplift them… to prepare them… for what lies ahead.” Out of nowhere, four heavily-armoured Elite Mutons appeared opposite Delta Squad, wielding Heavy Plasma guns, similar to Beckendorf’s.

Nico realised with a growing sense of horror that they were actually outnumbered seven to five. Perhaps they were nothing more than lambs sent to the slaughter. A surge of energy suddenly flowed through Nico, reminding him that he was far more powerful than any weapon the aliens could throw at him. Almost by instinct, Nico threw his arm in the direction of the Elite Mutons, grasping at very fabric of reality, and tore it open. Jason stepped back in shock when blood-curdling howls burst from the Mutons. It was a massacre, with eyes bursting open and yellowish blood spewing out of the gaps in their armour. A grenade self-detonated, engulfing the Mutons in a hurricane of fire and death. Even the stoic Beckendorf had to look away, the air itself seemed to be twisting without end. A whirlpool that went against the very laws of science destroyed the squad of bodyguards in a single blow. The odds were back in Delta Squad’s hands.

“It is as we hoped… the New One has surpassed all that have come before… and with such great confidence… so skilled with the Gift.” The Ethereals seemed more impressed than angry or terrified of the devastating display that Nico had put on.

“Go, go, go!” Beauregard, Beckendorf and Valdez charged up the stairs closest to them before engaging the Ethereal in sight. They took no chances with it, lobbing a volley of grenades at it and blowing it into oblivion. Jason on the other hand took a more direct approach, charging forward and hoping to engage the lead Ethereal with his powerful blasts. It was not to be however. The moment he laid a foot on the platform that it stood on, it stretched out its hand and attempted to seize control of him. Terror flashed across Nico’s face as Jason momentarily levitated in the air before collapsing onto the ground. The Neural Damping certainly had its benefits.

Nico decided to feed the Ethereals their own bitter medicine and he set his eyes on the Ethereal that stood watching him from its pulpit. “Serve me.” He reached into the Ethereal’s consciousness, overwhelming its mental defences and dominating its mind. The lead Ethereal certainly did not expect an attack by its own brethren and was thus, surprised when a bolt of psionic energy struck it in the chest. A psionic duel ensued, which the lead Ethereal easily held its own. Beckendorf and Beauregard attempted to flank it. Noticing their presence, the lead Ethereal looked at them, almost with contempt written on its ancient face and blasted them into a wall.

Finishing off its counterpart, the remaining Ethereal turned to face the stony-faced Nico. Nico unslinged his rifle and let loose a shot that found its mark. Reeling back for a moment, the Ethereal extended its hand toward Nico. An indescribable pain struck Nico as he stood up against his will and started walking toward the Ethereal. Each and every fibre of his muscles twisted and turned as he made its way to it. His veins burned, as though fire flowed through them. He did his best to resist the Ethereal’s control but nothing seemed to work. The Ethereal did not notice it but Nico did; Jason was no longer on the ground. A small black canister, recently opened, laid empty in his place.

“Why do you fight? Why do you resist? Is this not pointless? Submit, New One, and your pain will last no longer.” Nico came face to face with the Ethereal, which held its palms open, as though waiting for an answer. Nico did not say a word. Instead, he laughed. A long hearty laugh filled the room, Nico was seemingly mocking the very creature that could easily destroy both his mind and his body.

“Why do you laugh?” The Ethereal demanded indignantly. How could this pesky human laugh at the most powerful being ever to be seen on this insignificant planet?

Nico wiped a tear from his eye and smirked. “I laugh because I have friends,” he said quietly. “Friends who are going to kick your fucking ass.” Jason and Valdez decloaked immediately, the effects of the stealth Ghost Grenade having been depleted. Jason pushed the muzzle into the face of the Ethereal, smiled and fired a round. The Ethereal was thrown back a good few yards away, only to be hit by a second round while in mid-air. It did not even hit the ground when Valdez threw it into the air with his rocket-boosted fists. The painful game of ball ended when the Ethereal slammed onto the ground, right before Nico who unholstered his plasma pistol, laid his finger on the trigger and pulled it. The final shot of the war had been discharged.

“This is not your path! Not your purpose! You need our guidance to hone this power… without us, what are you?” With the Ethereal’s dying words, the ship shuddered. The massive windows shattered into shards as beams plummeted from the ceiling above. The ship was tearing itself apart with the death of the leader of the invasion.

“Vamos! We have to go!” Valdez swooped up the dazed Beauregard and Beckendorf, threw them onto his shoulders and raced toward the exit. Jason grabbed Nico’s hand and started running. They were reaching the exit when Jason suddenly felt Nico’s hand slipping out of his grasp. He immediately turned to look at Nico. Nico held his head between his hands, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. A series of images flowed through his mind. A city, a human city, ripping itself apart, cars, people, trees, whole buildings throwing themselves into the sky, toward the mothership. Nico’s eyes flew open. He could not leave the ship. Doing so would bring the end of humanity.

“Nico! Let’s go!” Jason grabbed his hand and with all his might, tried to pull him toward the exit but he refused to budge. His tear torn eyes of despair turned toward Jason, his lover, beloved and husband. When Jason saw his face etched with sorrow, he realised with a growing sense of horror what was going on. “Nico?”

“I can’t leave.” Nico’s voice cracked with his eyes brimming with tears. He had so much planned ahead for him and Jason, a whole life mapped out together. His hopes and dreams, all in vain. Fate was cruel but he had to do what had to be done.

In desperation, Jason wrapped himself around Nico, refusing to let him go. His grief gnawed away at him as he whispered in a quavering tone, “We’re getting out of here together.” His trickle of tears turned into a tide of weeping in despair. “I’m staying with you to the end.”

For a fleeting second, Nico contemplated Jason’s request. Then, he made up his mind. He stood on his tiptoes and kissed him lovingly and softly on the lips. “The war is over. You kept me safe and now, it’s my turn. I love you so much.”

Jason wept uncontrollably in grief and shock when he suddenly found himself walking toward the exit against his will. Nico let a single tear course down his cheek as he willed Jason to leave the room. With all his might and soul, Jason tried to resist Nico’s will but found himself unable to. He stepped beyond the doorway with his face twisted in anguish. This could not be happening, he screamed in his head. There must be another way.

As soon as he was a good distance away from the doors, Nico loosened his grasp over Jason. Jason turned and started racing toward Nico once again, refusing to let him die alone. As the doors began to close, the two soldiers exchanged gazes for the last time. Dark chocolate eyes meeting lightning blue eyes, both transfixed with grief and agony. All the love and passion that they held for each other, was immortalised in that one final gaze. “Goodbye, Jason.” The doors slammed shut. Jason threw himself again and again against the doors, wailing in grief. He tried to blow them open with his gun but before he could do so, Valdez picked him up and began rushing toward the Skyranger.

“Let me go!” His calm voice had turned high and hysterical with pain. “He’s still inside! I can’t leave him!”

“He’s sacrificing his life for us! Make it worth it!”

His heart shrivelled with anguish and broke into a million pieces. He had left his one and only alone to die. “Nico.”

Cold sharp despair buried itself deep in Nico’s heart. The look of misery on Jason’s face would haunt him for the remaining minutes of his life. He wiped his tears away and took a deep breath. He had one final task to complete to the very end. He turned toward the Ethereal Device, now churning and bubbling with torrents of psionic energy racing toward it. Even if he could not be with Jason, he still could save him and the rest of the world.

* * *

  
XCOM’s HQ shook violently with earth falling from the cavernous ceilings above. Bradford clung onto a railing as he made his way to a wide-eyed Dr. Vahlen. “What the hell is happening?”

She turned to look at him, fear evident in her eyes. “The ship itself is behaving like a dying star – becoming a black hole. At this distance, the earth will be consumed.”

* * *

  
All that he had gone through his life, the sweet moments, the bitter ones, Nico recalled each and every detail of them as he made his way to the Ethereal Device. In a fairer world, Nico would be flying off into the sunset with Jason’s hand holding his. But this was not a fair world. Nico’s head hung in despair as he laid his hands on the Ethereal Device and forced his will onto it. He knew time was running out. Gallons of water were already drifting up from the ocean toward the ship. A little longer and the whole world would be crushed into nothingness.

Visions surged through his mind once more. The Skyranger crashing and detonating, the ship imploding into a giant, pulsating ball of energy, millions of screaming people being lifted into the sky. Nico’s face paled when he saw the gravity well ripping the earth into oblivion, leaving nothing but a dark hole in its wake. This could not be allowed to happen. Nico gritted his teeth and concentrated.

“Where the fuck is di Angelo?” Kane was still drowsy but very well aware of the fact that Nico was nowhere to be seen as Valdez rushed onboard, with Jason crying bitterly and Beauregard and Beckendorf speechless with shock. The pilot had no qualms about leaving Nico behind and immediately took off, shutting the bay doors and flying as fast as possible out of the collapsing ship. Jason felt dead inside, wave after black wave of despair washed over him. He felt like falling apart the further they got from the ship, a ship he had abandoned his Nico on. He had lost him forever.

“Look!” Beauregard pointed out the window. Jason turned. The ship was ascending into the skies.

Nico’s head throbbed violently as he forced the ship to bend to his will and rise up to skies. He ordered it to ascend and it did. Yard by yard, mile by mile, the ship rose rapidly into the darkness of space, hovering far above the earth. Millions of people watched it go, mouths agape as they wondered what might happen next. All of a sudden, the throbbing stopped. Nico was at ease with his body and soul. A sense of peace and serenity overwhelmed him. What he felt that moment could never be described in any language. He shot open his eyes and smiled. “Jason.” A bright flash filled the room. The ship erupted into a massive fireball and exploded.                                                                  

Bright streaks lit up the sky, the minuscule debris of the ship bursting through the atmosphere and burning into cinders. Cheers broke out in cities across the globe as the alien invasion had finally come to an end. Tears of joy and prayers were uttered as the earth was finally free. Back in XCOM HQ, Bradford broke out a bottle of brandy that he had been keeping for this occasion, and shared it with Dr. Vahlen. His job was done.

  
In the Skyranger though, a gloomy silence reigned. Not a merry word was uttered. Heads remained bowed; everyone sat motionless in a state of shock. Jason sat silent for a little while too, before letting out a wrenched cry of tormented anguish. Even when his friends huddled around him and hugged him, he could not stop the endless grasp of sorrow and despair that had swept over him. As he buried his face in his hands and bawled, he could not stop thinking of that beautiful face, with its inky black locks of hair, those melting chocolate eyes and those sweet, loving lips. How could he? He loved Nico with all his heart and soul. And he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and suggestions are always warmly accepted. :D


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As his finger started pulling at the trigger, Jason could feel a pair of eyes on him. Nico stared at him from behind the pane of a small photo frame that sat on the far end of his desk. With his free hand, he took the frame and brought it under the light to gaze upon Nico’s beautiful face one last time before joining him in the afterlife. A small sad smile wavered gently on his wet cheeks. It felt just like yesterday to him. Jason had sneaked out of the base with Nico on Halloween without Bradford’s knowledge to visit the county fair. In the picture taken in a photo booth, Nico stared wide-eyed into the camera smiling bashfully and blushing as a bunny-eared Jason nibbled at his neck. Nico’s playful smile seemed to part the darkness that clouded Jason’s mind for a moment, only for him to remember that it was a smile he was never to see again. Perhaps he would be able to do so if he had the courage to pull the trigger. The more he stared at the photo, the more expression Nico’s eyes seemed to exuberate. They always were very expressive. Jason pushed away the frame; trying to ignore the beseeching look that Nico’s picture was giving him. He closed his eyes once more, hoping that he would not feel a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9 November 2015. A week after the end of the war, XCOM finally disbands.

His hands trembled uncontrollably as he wrapped his finger around the trigger. Pressing the cold muzzle against the side of his head, Jason squeezed his eyes shut to hold back the torrent of tears that threatened to overwhelm him. His throat was parched dry and his eyes dead tired after many sleepless tear-soaked nights. Every few minutes, Jason prayed to whoever was listening that he would finally wake up from this dreadful nightmare to find Nico sleeping snugly beside him or in his arms. It was a desperate prayer. An unanswered one.

Jason loved Nico more than he loved life itself. There was simply something indescribable about him that Jason could never truly understand or comprehend. What he did know was that in those precious beautiful months he had spent alongside with him, Nico had become the centre of his universe, the light of his life. And that light - had been extinguished by the cruel hand of Fate. The moment he saw the fireball illuminating the sky, something withered and died deep inside Jason. Mere hours after the happiest moment in his life, all his hopes and dreams for a life spent together with Nico by his side had been annihiliated in a single crushing blow. What had he done, no, what had Nico done to deserve his fate? Jason kept pondering that question as he held his gun to his head. His failure at keeping Nico safe from harm was an agonising pain that kept ripping away at the tattered remains of Jason’s heart. A pain that perhaps only the sweet relief of death could ebb.

Choking back a sob, Jason squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as a tear escaped down his cheek. It travelled down his face to drip onto the desk. The puddle of tears that laid under Jason’s chin shimmered in the dim light of the table lamp. In between his episodes of quiet mourning and heartbreaking grief, Jason had managed to catch brief naps that barely helped to elevate the fatigue that was taking its toll on him. He could not bring himself to sleep in the bed that he had shared with Nico. Nico’s scent was embedded in the sheets and every time Jason approached the bed, the scent enveloped him, torturing him mercilessly with each breath he took. He could simply have changed the sheets, but he did not. He could not bring himself to rid the place of the remaining reminders of Nico.

Outside his room, he could hear the sound of running feet and excited chattering. XCOM was finally disbanding due to the end of the war. Today was the last day for all personnel to except for a skeleton maintenance crew. Jason had not packed his bags however, nor was he in the mood to do so. He was determined to end his suffering this morning, alone in the quiet of his room. What more did he have to live for? His only remaining family member was his sister. His friends and colleagues were all going their separate ways, returning to their homes and families faraway. Ever since Nico’s passing, his mind had been teetering on the line that separated sanity from insanity. His will to live was slipping away into the darkness each passing second.

As his finger started pulling at the trigger, Jason could feel a pair of eyes on him. Nico stared at him from behind the pane of a small photo frame that sat on the far end of his desk. With his free hand, he took the frame and brought it under the light to gaze upon Nico’s beautiful face one last time before joining him in the afterlife. A small sad smile wavered gently on his wet cheeks. It felt just like yesterday to him. Jason had sneaked out of the base with Nico on Halloween without Bradford’s knowledge to visit the county fair. In the picture taken in a photo booth, Nico stared wide-eyed into the camera smiling bashfully and blushing as a bunny-eared Jason nibbled at his neck. Nico’s playful smile seemed to part the darkness that clouded Jason’s mind for a moment, only for him to remember that it was a smile he was never to see again. Perhaps he would be able to do so if he had the courage to pull the trigger. The more he stared at the photo, the more expression Nico’s eyes seemed to exuberate. They always were very expressive. Jason pushed away the frame; trying to ignore the beseeching look that Nico’s picture was giving him. He closed his eyes once more, hoping that he would not feel a thing.

A light rapping on the door broke the silence and his concentration. “Jason?” called Beauregard, her silvery voice muffled through the door. “It’s us. We want to see you.” His colleagues probably wanted to say farewell to him, he guessed. He threw open his drawer and tucked it away under a rag. It would not be fair to them if he ended his life without saying a proper goodbye to them. They were his friends and colleagues after all. To some extent, they were his brethren, not through blood but through comradeship.

Beauregard, Beckendorf, Kane and Valdez stood at the door, bags and suitcases in hand. He could not look up at their faces; he could feel their pitying glances and sympathetic smiles which he did not want. Beauregard gave quick pecks on both of his cheeks and hugged him. Beckendorf gave him a firm handshake and a promise to stay in touch. Valdez on the other hand called Jason his ‘camarada’ and reminded him that he was always a phone call away. As Valdez disappeared around the corner, Jason realised that Kane was still staring at him in silence, her mechanical prosthetic legs shifting uncomfortably. She was blinking excessively while looking him up and down.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” asked Jason, slightly puzzled at her not saying a word.

She blinked and looked him straight in the eye. “Bloody hell, Grace. You look like some rotten beggar that got beaten up on the East End side.”

“I doubt that’s a compliment.”

Indeed, Jason had not bothered cleaning himself up for the past few days. He did not notice but his five o’clock shadow was already on its way to becoming a ten o’clock shadow. His normally clean-shaven chin was starting to turn into a forest of fuzz. His tired bloodshot eyes did not exactly help matters, as did the fact that he had not been in the mood for a shower for the past few days. He had not been doing much in fact other than contemplating whether to pull the trigger on himself or not.

Kane pushed her way into Jason’s room with her luggage bag, commenting on how unkempt his room was. She threw open his closet and tossed him a clean t-shirt and a pair of loose cargo shorts. “For fuck’s sake, go clean yourself up. You look like shit.” Jason attempted to protest that she was intruding his privacy but she would have none of it, pushing him into his own bathroom and slamming the door behind him. She really was indomitable, Jason noted.

As he stood in the shower, letting the cold frigid water rain down on him, Jason was painfully reminded of those moments when he and Nico showered together, with Nico standing still as Jason lathered his uncovered body with soap. He remembered laughing whenever Nico shuddered when he laid his fingers on Nico’s perfectly smooth skin or lovingly kissed his body. It tore away at him when he thought of those passion-filled times when he pressed Nico against the wall and started kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Afterward, they would retreat to their bed to have a night of passion or they would do it right there in the shower, with Nico’s mouth hanging wide open as Jason deepened his thrusts into him. Nico’s cries of pleasure still rang in his ears. Jason hung his head in despair while stepping out of the shower when an endless grasp of sorrow and grief swept over him. His memories of Nico were so much more precious and so much more painful now that he was gone.

Jason exited the bathroom, massaging his freshly shaved chin. His eyes shot wide open when he saw that his closet, drawers and shelves had been ransacked of their contents. Kane was just forcefully stuffing a stubborn towel into Jason’s suitcase when she saw him looking at her. “I took the liberty to pack up your things.” She paused to glance uncomfortably at a duffle bag that sat in the corner. It was Nico’s. “I also packed up his things. It’s up to you what you want to do with them.”

She walked up to him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be frank with you. I know I can be quite the arse at times. Just ask my brother. But in all sincerity, I did and still do care for you both. You might be blaming yourself for what happened to him. Don’t. There is a reason why he forced you out of the bridge. And my hunch is this: he wanted you to live.”

As she spoke, she reached into her pockets and pulled out a gun, his gun. She handed it back to Jason, her eyes clearly telling him that she knew what he had been planning. “He wanted you to continue living for him. I sincerely believe that he wouldn’t want you to blame yourself for his sacrifice. A heroic sacrifice that literally saved the world, mind you. And trust me when I say, he wouldn’t want you to waste his sacrifice by blaming and hating yourself, what more with ending your life that he himself saved. You loved him. And he knew it. We all knew it. And he loved you too. So, love and live your life for him. He would have wanted it.”

A tear coursed down Jason’s cheek as he gave Kane a tight hug. What she had said of Nico meant an entire world to him. He had not had the courage to talk to anyone about the guilty feelings that he had been holding in the whole time, and here she was, telling him to his face how Nico would never have been fine with it. “Thank you.”

“Idiot...I...can’t breathe...” she squeaked. Jason quickly released her and left her to catch her breath. She realised that she needed to leave to catch her flight and with a final farewell handshake and a promise to pay him a visit on Christmas, she sprinted out into the hallway with her luggage and left. Jason sighed and picked up his bags as well as Nico’s. Kane was right. Jason knew Nico well enough to know that he would have wanted him to pick up the pieces after he had passed away. It was going to be a painful journey but it was what Nico would have wanted and he would do anything for him. After all, in the end, once his hair was grey and his skin wrinkled, he would be reuniting with him once more.

* * *

**_Christmas Eve 2015_ **

  
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Kane yawned.

“Ja, ja! I’ve already double-checked with Solace! We should be arriving in about 3 minutes.”

“Do I turn left now?” asked Valdez as he turned his blinker on.

“Next turning.”

Beauregard sat quietly in the back, taking photographs of the passing countryside and wondering aloud why the place was not yet blanketed with snow. The four of them had returned to the United States to spend Christmas Eve with Jason who was now apparently living in upstate New York. The three Europeans had met up with Valdez in Albany and rented a car before heading out to Jason’s place. At first, Beckendorf drove but years of driving on the Autobahn had made the usually composed man into a speed demon, forcing the more cautious Valdez to take the wheel to avoid getting a ticket.

Finally, they turned into a small narrow road that led to a quaint colonial style home. They had reached their destination. It certainly was a beautiful place, with a panoramic view of a nearby river, the surrounding trees and the faraway hills. The house itself was no mansion, but it definitely did have a modest yet charming look to it with its well-kept brownstone walls. The yard was impressively neat, but rather plain with no flowers or shrubs. While Beckendorf and Valdez unloaded the car, Kane and Beauregard went up to the front porch and pressed the bell. A large American flag fluttered above their heads as did a rainbow flag. After a while, the door was unlocked and swung open.

“Bloody hell, he’s as cute as a button!”

“Oh, he’s adorable. And he’s so cuddly!” The Frenchwoman swooped down onto the innocently staring husky puppy before gathering it into her arms and cuddling it lovingly.

Jason laughed as he wagged his finger above the puppy’s head. “It’s a girl actually. Mrs. O’Leary. Got her from the shelter two weeks ago.”

“Oh, la petite madame!” squealed Beauregard as she bent her head to kiss the baffled Mrs. O’Leary’s nose. Kane turned to look at Jason. He certainly did look a lot healthier than when she last saw him, but he did seem to have a hint of sadness in his eyes. She did not fault him for that. No one could seriously be expected to get over the loss of a loved one within a month. Then she recalled why she was here. “Merry Christmas! Now give me a hug, you cheeky bastard!” Her growl erupted into raucous laughter as she grabbed Jason’s outstretched hand and hauled him into a bear hug. With Beckendorf and Valdez lugging stacks of take-away food boxes into the house, the normally quiet home became a place of merriment and festivity late into that special night.

* * *

 

For the first time in many nights, Jason could not bring himself to close his eyes and let sleep take him. Perhaps it was the coffee or the sugary treats that Beauregard had bought. The truth was that he knew what it was that kept him awake. The side of the bed that was supposed to be Nico’s was empty. It should not have been. Yet, it was. And Jason was still trying to get used to it. Jason had been trying to move on with life, starting a life as an amateur photographer and part-time gym instructor. But each time he laid in bed, looking up at the ceiling, he wondered how different life would be if Nico had lived. He still remembered waking up to find himself wrapped around Nico in a protective embrace, with their legs entwined. Nico always did look so peaceful and calm whenever he was sleeping.

Jason rolled over, flipping his pillow to the cool side. On the bedside table he faced, a framed photo of Nico in his parade uniform sat as did all his medals and badges. Nico smiled warmly at him from behind the glass. He smiled back as he reminisced all the sweetest moments that he had lived and experienced with Nico. He did not realise his eyes slowly closing until he finally drifted off into a deep sleep. Hence, a bright violet light that lit up the room went unnoticed by him that night.

“Nico.” Jason found himself staring right into Nico’s beautiful dark brown eyes. He did not seem to be clothed in any way, but what did it matter to Jason? It was just a dream, but he wanted to enjoy every moment of being with his beloved. He felt so real, his flawless face just inches away from Jason’s. A deathly fear clouded Jason’s mind, not that he was seeing a ghost in his dreams but that if he woke up, Nico would be gone and he would be all alone again.

A naturally radiant smile added to the perfection that was Nico. The sunlight seemed to shine on Nico’s face, highlighting each and every feature of his face. Jason did not flinch when Nico reached his hands up to the side of Jason’s face and softly wiped away the tears of joy that were running down from his eyes. “You missed me?” His voice was calm and soothing, just like Nico was in life. His touch too, was gentle and tender, nearing a caress. Jason did not want this to end. If he had to, he would take bottles after bottles of sleeping pills to try to relive this dream over and over.

“I missed you, so much. Every week, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, I never stopped thinking of you.” As he said this, he wrapped his arms around Nico, pulling him closer. He nuzzled his head against Nico’s shoulder and inhaled his scent. He had never told this to anyone but Nico had a particular scent to him that he could only describe as roses with a whiff of incense. They laid in silence as Jason rubbed Nico’s back, feeling his strong muscles ripple under his roving palms. “Why did you have to go?”

Nico closed his eyes tightly, breathing a heavy sigh. “I had to. It was the only way to keep you and everyone safe.”

“You saved my life, but I didn’t save yours. I’m sorry...I...couldn’t...didn’t try...hard enough...” Jason’s voice cracked as he remembered the horrible moment when he realised he was helpless to do anything. Never before had he felt so weak and powerless to help the one he loved until that moment.

Jason did not resist when Nico cupped his face in his hands, looking deep into his intense and tearful lightning blue eyes. A shudder travelled up Jason’s spine when he felt Nico’s warm breath on his skin. Leaning in, Nico softly whispered into his ear, “You didn’t have to. I’m here now, with you, for you.”

His face twisted in anguish, Jason finally admitted his greatest fear in a quavering voice. “But if I wake up, you will be gone and I’ll be alone again. I may never see you again.”

Nico did not answer. Instead he kissed Jason. Nico’s natural scent enveloped Jason, reminding him of those quiet moments after they made love, when Nico buried his head in Jason’s chest, letting him hold him and feel him. His lips were soft and alluring, and the moans that he made sent tingles down Jason’s spine. The two lovers just let their instincts take over, enjoying each other’s lips and enjoying the ecstasy that it brought to them both. Jason tilted his head to deepen the kiss and traced his tongue against Nico’s tender lips. He could taste Nico’s sweet tongue as they ran across each other. His heart started pounding with adrenaline in his veins. His mind was lost with Nico in his arms.

The moment they finally parted their lips, Jason realised the truth. The veil had been broken and the truth revealed. This was no dream. Nico really was in his arms. He did not know why or how was this even a possibility, but it did not matter to him. Nico was alive and with him. That was what mattered. He buried his head in Nico’s unkempt mess of hair, breathing in his smell. “I love you so much.” He did not care that it was the most cliché thing to say, but he meant every word of it. Nico only had to see the love shining in his eyes to know that he meant every word.

“I love you too. Merry Christmas, Jason.”

“Merry Christmas, Nico.” After so long, Jason was whole again, with Nico by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos and suggestions are always warmly accepted. :D


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